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Prince Harry’s bachelor party wasn’t without fun and…some fear. In Spare, the Duke of Sussex recalled how he’d been afraid of what his brother, Prince William, might do. Not, perhaps, over imbibe. (One of the Prince of Wales’s nicknames is One Pint Willy.) Rather, change Harry’s appearance ahead of his 2018 royal wedding to Meghan Markle by shaving off his beard.

Harry worried William would shave off his beard at his 2018 bachelor party

In addition to the many bombshells in Spare, Harry also gave an inside look at his and the Duchess of Sussex’s royal wedding. On May 19, 2018, the two wed at St. George’s Chapel inside the walls of Windsor Castle. 

As Harry revealed, the tension went well beyond the bridesmaids’ dresses, Meghan’s tiara, and her father’s absence from the ceremony. Somehow, his beard became embroiled in the wedding drama.  

William, the now-father of two wrote, wanted his brother to get rid of the beard. Meanwhile, Harry had already been granted permission to keep it by their grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

So, by the time Harry’s bachelor party came around, he had concerns William might go to certain lengths to shave his beard. 

“I showed up to my stag night [bachelor party] ready to party. To laugh, to have a good time, to get clear of all this stress,” Harry recalled (via Spare). “And yet I also feared that if I got too clear, got too drunk and passed out, Willy and his mates would hold me down and shave me.” 

Harry continued, saying that’s exactly what William intended to do. “In fact, Willy told me, explicitly, in all seriousness, that this was his plan. So, while having fun, I was also, at all times, keeping my older brother in my sights.”

Harry’s beard had previously become the subject of a week-long argument with William

As Harry later revealed in an interview, he and William argued for a week about the beard. Meanwhile, in Spare, Harry shared his own recollection of the argument, noting his brother ordered him at one point to shave “as the heir speaking to the spare.” 

William “bristled” when he discovered the queen, who died in 2022, had granted Harry’s request to keep his beard for the wedding. 

According to the book, William told Harry, “You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.” 

“Willy,” Harry explained, “always thought Granny had a soft spot for me. That she indulged me while holding him to an impossibly high standard.” 

Finally, William admitted it was such a big deal to him because he hadn’t been allowed to keep his own beard for his 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton. 

Harry wondered if ‘Beardgate’ contributed to William’s mood on the eve of his 2018 royal wedding

Harry also revisited the night before his wedding in Spare. He recalled his disappointment when William “canceled last minute” on spending time together. 

Harry thought the two would have dinner and greet crowds as they’d done ahead of William’s nuptials. When pressed, William gave “the kids” as his reason for skipping it.  

His brother’s absence, Harry wrote, became a “sore subject.” He didn’t want to discuss why William wasn’t there when friends asked as they had a few drinks at Coworth Park Hotel. 

Instead, the now-39-year-old reflected on it internally. “I asked myself what was really going on?” he recalled. Harry wondered if it was about not being the best man or a “hangover from Beardgate” that bothered William. Whatever the reason, he didn’t understand his brother’s reluctance to spend the evening with him. 

Ultimately, William joined Harry in greeting crowds on the eve of his wedding. And, of course, as photos and videos from the ceremony showed, Harry sported his beard. 

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