Royal Family Members Who Completely Transformed Their Smiles

Having blue blood does not protect you from having less than perfect teeth — or losing one in a scuffle, for that matter. Those who've been keeping an eye on the royals and their pearly whites know that it takes plenty of work to get that camera-ready smile. From their earliest days, royals' teeth are a subject of discussion. Prince William and Princess Catherine's firstborn son, Prince George, made headlines when photographers captured pictures of the little royal sporting some of his first teeth at 9 months old while William and Catherine were on their 2014 Australia tour.

While some royal family members' smiles are admired, others have been scrutinized – most notably Queen Elizabeth II's mother. One could guess the Queen Mother's age simply by looking at her teeth. And, fair enough, she was born in 1900, when dentistry was not the greatest. Getting dental work done mostly consisted of having bad teeth pulled and preventive treatments didn't exist. People often criticized the Queen Mother's teeth because they had significant discoloration and weren't perfectly straight. The reason for the discoloration, according to dental experts, was a result of her lifestyle — she was known for enjoying a good party, indulging in sweet treats, cigarettes, and alcohol. Basically, she was just like us normal folks, without a dentist on standby with teeth whitening treatments to take care of the carnage.

These days, however, the royal family takes full advantage of modern dentistry, and their smiles have undergone stunning transformations as a result.

Princess Beatrice's best looks have always been accompanied by her winning smile, but it took a while to perfect. For one, Beatrice's front teeth have some discoloration. According to Dr. Sahil Patel, the white spots on Beatrice's teeth are the result of a common condition known as enamel hypocalcification. This occurs when the tooth's enamel doesn't form as it should during childhood years, leaving some parts discolored. It's not clear what causes hypocalcification, but Patel told Hello! magazine that many patients visit their dentist to have the appearance of these spots minimized, which is usually first addressed with regular old teeth whitening. "[Beatrice] appears to have undergone tooth whitening," Patel noted. Later, he explained, "The white spots are typically still visible afterwards, causing many patients to opt for further treatment, such as resin infiltration, composite bonding or ceramic veneers."

As for Beatrice's perfectly straight teeth? Those are thanks to her braces. "Many people with her facial form have crowding on their front teeth, particularly incisors," Patel explained. "Following braces, she may have had a fixed wire retainer on the back surface of the teeth, which keeps the teeth from drifting, but can make it challenging to keep the teeth clean."

If Beatrice didn't go for this option, Patel said she likely still sleeps with a retainer to ensure her teeth remain straight. Patel also suggested she might have had some tooth contouring done to level her front teeth. Whatever Beatrice did, her smile sure looks gorgeous!

Zara Tindall has undergone a stunning transformation — and so have her teeth. Like many other royal children, she wore braces in her teenage years; however, she didn't have super straight teeth as an adult. Her lateral incisors weren't completely in line with her front teeth — something she may have improved by wearing a retainer. Dr. Julia Coelho told Hello! magazine that it's pretty obvious that Zara's smile has changed a bit since her early adulthood.

"Zara has had her lateral incisors restored to improve the shape with either composite bonding or veneers," Coelho told the outlet. "Composite bonding is a dental procedure where a tooth-coloured resin material is applied and hardened with a special light to improve or restore a smile." Coelho said this procedure is often employed to fix teeth that are fractured or chipped, but composite bonding also works great if you want to improve the aesthetic of discolored teeth or change the shape of a tooth. With composite bonding, you can make a tooth appear longer and even close gaps between teeth. Pretty cool!

Coelho noted that Tindall might have veneers as well, which are shells made in the shape of your teeth and then placed over problem areas, almost like a permanent glove. They work great to cover cracks and stains, and given Tindall's near-perfect smile, it's likely she's got one or two of these.

Queen Elizabeth II had one of the most famous smiles in the world, and she wasn't afraid to share how she got it when she met with kids getting fitted for braces at a London hospital in 2020. Getting braces isn't exactly pleasant, as many can attest, and the monarch tried to ease some fears by telling the kids about her own experience. "I had wires, luckily it was a very long time ago," she told them, as reported by Elle. "I think it's worth it in the end," she added. And indeed, Queen Elizabeth had a perfectly pleasant smile until her death in September 2022.

Unlike her mother, the queen's teeth remained looking sterling her entire life. Dental expert Matthew Rose told Express that the queen's pearly whites did not remain so without some help, noting that her teeth looked very good for someone her age. "The queen appears to have all of her own teeth, but is likely to have had dental work carried out such as crowns and veneers to help improve their appearance over the years," Rose told the outlet.

When you live in Hollywood, the pressure to have perfect teeth is probably palpable, so it makes sense that Prince Harry has visited the dentist a few times since his abrupt exit from the U.K. It's natural for teeth to lose their shine as one gets older, but eagle-eyed dentist Dr. Aneka Khaira told Express in 2022 that Harry's teeth appear to have gotten better with age, pointing out that they weren't as white in pictures 10 years ago. "As Prince Harry moved to the States his teeth appear significantly whiter, so he may have undergone some whitening treatment," Khaira said.

She added that he hadn't gone for the full Hollywood treatment, which usually consists of getting veneers. Instead, she suspects the prince's dentist did some bonding in addition to the whitening treatment. Khaira said Harry's teeth used to show signs of staining and that some small chips were visible, a sign that the prince might regularly grind or clench his teeth. These imperfections are no longer visible today.

Longtime pundits would remember that Harry wore braces in his teenage years, but the gap between his front teeth remained. He appears to have had this fixed since. "There is evidence of the gap being closed partially later into his adult life so Prince Harry may have had some bonding to reduce or close the gap," Khaira explained.

Meghan Markle might sport the typical Hollywood smile these days, but her teeth were perfectly ordinary before she became a famous actor. Those who've done their research know Meghan's school pictures showcase a gap between her front teeth, which no longer exists. According to cosmetic dentist Michael J. Weiss, as revealed on his website, Meghan likely wore braces or Invisalign at some point to close this gap. The dentist also believes that the megawatt smile Meghan donned in her college years was due to teeth whitening treatments but her current smile is likely the work of veneers. However, dentist Rhona Eskander isn't so sure. She told Hello! magazine that it's unlikely the duchess has veneers because the shape of her teeth hasn't changed much, except for her front teeth, which Eskander noted looked shorter. "To make the teeth a little bit shorter you can have something [called] cosmetic contouring, which is filing down the teeth to make them a little bit shorter," Eskander explained.

 Maintaining a perfect smile takes some work (and money), but it sure is worth it when cameras are on you at all times.

Royal pundits have had a front row seat to Princess Catherine's stunning transformation over the years — and yes, that includes her pearly whites. Catherine's teeth weren't perfect before she became a royal, and in 2011, the Daily Mail published a piece claiming that French dentist Didier Fillion was the master behind Catherine's newly stellar smile.

The outlet reported that Fillion fitted Catherine with lingual braces, which means they were placed at the back of her teeth. These braces force the teeth to rotate ever so slightly, helping to align them without making it look unnatural. According to Fillion, the perfect smile should still have some small imperfections to look natural. "I try to give back some details, a space we don't close or a shorter incisor," he told the Daily Mail. This seems to be the case for Catherine. Dentist Matthew Rose told Express that while Catherine's smile is gorgeous, it has its imperfections, giving it that perfectly imperfect look. "Kate's smile is more likely to be the one that will always be in demand," he said.

Speaking to Hello! magazine, Dr. Rhona Eskander said, "Kate's lateral incisors, which are next to her central incisors, are slightly rotated towards the middle. This creates a more natural smile." Eskander noted that the princess probably has her teeth whitened regularly and she doesn't show any signs of sporting veneers.

Although Prince William had braces as a teenager, his smile still appeared natural in the aftermath, albeit more aligned. And while he couldn't hide his braces from the world, the prince did an excellent job of keeping a little dental mishap out of the press, at least for a little while.

You might not know this about Prince William, but he can be quite the party animal — just like his younger brother Prince Harry. But William knows how to stay incognito, and when he lost a tooth at a high society wedding, it remained a well-kept secret until an unnamed source spilled all the details to the Daily Mail a year later. William was attending his friend Tom van Straubenzee and Lady Melissa Percy's wedding in Northumberland when the accident occurred. Per the source, William was "tearing up the [dance floor]" with his pal Tom Inskip when the latter got a little too carried away and accidentally smacked the royal in the face, sending one of his front teeth flying. "William was joking that if Kate went into labor that night, he'd have to smile for the cameras with a missing tooth," the source said. "William made sure the tooth was repaired because he was worried Kate was going to go completely spare."

Dentist Matthew Rose told Express that the prince likely had the tooth crowned or veneered since his one upper right central incisor appeared notably lighter post 2013.

Lady Louise Windsor has proven that she's a style icon on more than one occasion, and her stellar smile has certainly helped her look her best over the years. Like Prince Harry and Prince William, Louise's perfect smile isn't all thanks to good genes — she's had a little help in the orthodontics department, wearing braces as a teenager to straighten her teeth. "Dental procedures are frequently necessary to prevent more serious issues in the long run, and even the royal family is not immune to that," a spokesperson for Altima Dental told Express. "It is interesting to see such influential individuals embrace treatments such as braces and veneers, and it hopefully encourages others to take care of their smiles," they added.

While braces aren't exactly a fashion statement (or comfortable to wear, for that matter) they do pay off in dividends later in life. Alma Dental told Express that, despite her imperfect smile when she was younger, Louise's signature grin became a favorite among royal watchers as she grew older — with there being more online searches for her smile than Queen Elizabeth II's. At the time, the royal's smile garnered over 10,800 Google searches in 2021 while the queen's smile was only searched 7,800 times.

Louise's popularity among royal watchers has led some PR experts to suggest that she would be a great addition to the working royal family, especially in the light of King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.