King Charles Is Unrecognizable In Rugged Royal Navy Throwback Pics

Does the beard make the man? We're not sure. But King Charles III's facial hair sure made him look rugged during his military days. Numerous photos from Charles' training and service have surfaced online, and in most of these images, Charles is clean-shaven, as is to be expected for most members of the British military. However, a few of the pics show the monarch sporting a full beard during his service with the Royal Navy — and some social media users think that he never should have shaved it off. And to be fair, the burly look does suit Charles.

King Charles III with a beard during his years of military service in the Royal Navy. He should have kept the beard pic.twitter.com/KXrZunWTeZ

— Irish Loyalist ☘️🇬🇧 (@Irish_Unionist2) October 7, 2024

King Charles, then Prince of Wales, served in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976, when he was in his 20s. He served on numerous ships over the course of his Navy career, and even commanded the HMS Bronington during the final days of his service. Notably, the Royal Navy was the only branch of the British military that allowed members to have beards during the time of Charles' service. The Royal Air Force eventually lifted its ban on beards in 2019, per BBC News, with the Royal Army doing the same in 2024, according to The Times. At the time of writing, however, the Royal Marines have yet to follow suit.

Given how studly it made him look, you may be wondering why King Charles III shaved his Navy beard. Well, it probably had something to do with the fact that his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, absolutely detested facial hair. "She doesn't mind royal men growing beards when they are away in the Armed Forces or out in the wilds ... but she expects them to be clean-shaven when they get home," a royal insider told the Daily Express in 2014.

As it turns out, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and Queen Elizabeth's dislike of beards put her at odds with King Charles' own son, Prince Harry. "Royal staff are not supposed to grow beards or moustaches and she probably thinks it is difficult to enforce that rule when her own grandson has a beard," the aforementioned insider added. "Harry doesn't like to upset the Queen and will probably shave it off soon."

But that was back in 2014. And as we know, Harry ultimately decided not to shave. (To be fair, the Duke of Sussex does look totally different without facial hair.) He even got a special exception to keep his beard for his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, which apparently infuriated his older brother, Prince William. In his 2023 memoir "Spare," Harry claimed that William even tried to force him to shave. When Harry asked why he was making such a big deal of the whole thing, William allegedly responded, "Because I wasn't allowed to keep my beard." William did bring back his beard in an attempt to curry favor amid all the royal drama in 2024, however.