Prince Harry was accused of breaking a major military rule during a Remembrance Sunday parade – but people are stepping in to defend his actions.
The 33-year-old – now sixth in line to the throne – retired from active military service two years ago, but caused offence with his appearance at the Remembrance Sunday parade in London at the weekend.
What was the problem? He was sporting a beard. Yeah.
According to The Mirror, a serving member of the elite cavalry regiment said:
Prince Harry is letting us all down. There’s no place for beards in the Queen’s cavalry. He should have shaved it off for such an important day.
British army rules forbid all beards, unless in rare circumstances such as when a soldier may be suffering from skin complaints or has strong religious beliefs to adhere to which concern facial hair – for example Sikhs are not allowed to cut their hair.
Special Forces, or those on covert operations, may grow beards while behind enemy lines, however, they’d not be permitted to wear them on parade – especially on a day you could class essentially, as the definition of home turf – the Cenotaph is less than a mile from Buckingham Palace.
A tradition exists which allows a small number of Pioneer Sergeants to wear a beard on duty, but members of the Queen’s personal guard have never been given this permission.
Harry’s grandmother is Colonel-in-Chief of the Blues and Royals and his aunt, Princess Anne, is Colonel of the Regiment.
The Royal Navy, in which Harry’s dad, Prince Charles served, allows beards, but officers are told to shave them off if they aren’t full enough.
Harry isn’t actually serving anymore, so basically, if he wants a beard, he bloody well can do – and of course people on Twitter gave their full support to him.
Ned Donovan wrote:
Really don’t understand this fury over Prince Harry’s beard. We’ve been there before, many times.
While ‘Kathleen’ added:
I actually can’t believe Prince Harry’s being shunned for not shaving his beard at a Remembrance Sunday memorial; he’s served his country for years, was present at the memorial and paid his respects.
It’s only been a few weeks since Harry was pulled up for doing something royals shouldn’t do, when he was caught on camera holding hands with his significant other, Meghan Markle.
The pair were photographed as they attended the Invictus Games in Toronto and celebrated the fantastic resilience of the veterans who took up a paraplegic sporting career after suffering life-changing injuries.
However, no-one would stop talking about their hand-holding, all because they’ve apparently broken some archaic unwritten royal rule.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly make a conscious effort not to hold hands at official public engagements to maintain professionalism while at work.
The founder of Beaumont Etiquette, Myka Meier told People:
The likely reasoning is more that while travelling on a tour such as the India trip, technically the couple are working representatives of British Monarchy.
The couple are likely to show very little PDA, if any, to remain professional during their designated roles abroad.
Let him get on with it!
