Prince Harry needed to seek permission from his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, to keep his beard when he married Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex told ITV's Tom Bradby, before the release of his memoir Spare on Tuesday, that it had been the source of an argument with his brother, Prince William.
He said the beard was a "shield" to his anxiety, he feared his bride might not recognise him without it, and that his brother felt it was unfair that he had been previously made to shave off a beard.
It was one of the more obscure subjects Prince Harry raised in the interview, which also covered his years of disappointment at his family's lack of support and his anger at the British press.
Bradby said the argument over the beard was "one of the most puzzling in the book".
In a voiceover, he said: "Harry claims he went to see his granny, the Queen, to ask, as required, for permission to keep his beard for his own wedding. She was amenable, William was not.
"There was then an argument, Harry says, between the two brothers that went on for a week and ended, he claims, with his brother ordering him, as the heir to the spare, to shave it off."
Bradby then said to the duke: "I mean I just read that and thought ‘What — what is that really about?’ because that is not about 'to beard or not to beard'."
The duke replied: "I mean I refer to it as heir-spare but also older brother-younger brother, right?
"There’s a level of competition there. And again, writing this, I remembered that William had a beard himself and that granny and other people told him that he had to shave it off.
"The difference for me, if there was a difference, as I explained to my grandmother, that this beard that I’m still wearing, felt to me at the time like the new Harry. Right?
"As almost like a shield to my anxiety. That was the time of my life when I grew my beard.
"I think William found it hard that other people told him to shave it off, and yet here I was on my wedding day wearing military uniform, no longer in the military, but thinking as though I — believing as though I should shave it off before my wedding day.
"And I said ,‘Well, I don’t believe that Meghan’s going to recognise me if she comes up the aisle and sees me beardless’.
"I would feel very, very different without my beard, and that’s hard for people to understand who’ve never grown a beard, but hopefully those beard people out there will go ‘Yeah, no, I fully get that, I can understand’."
Prince Harry's account prompted comedian David Baddiel to question whether the topic warranted a “constitutional crisis”.
“As a man with a beard I relate to Harry not wanting to shave off his beard,” Baddiel tweeted.
“But not to the idea that having or not having a beard can become some kind of constitutional crisis.”
The 90-minute interview was packed with the duke's criticism of his family.
Prince Harry's autobiography: What to expect
Referring to the British press, he accused members of his family of “getting into bed with the devil” to rehabilitate their image, and his father King Charles of sacrificing his son’s interests in favour of his own.
The duke also criticised family members for a “really horrible reaction” on the day Queen Elizabeth died, with leakings and briefings.
He also said he loved his father and brother, the Prince of Wales, but: “At the moment, I don’t recognise them, as much as they probably don’t recognise me.”
“Nothing of what I’ve done in this book or otherwise has ever been any intention to harm them or hurt them."
His book has sparked a furore over his claims that Prince William physically attacked him, and his admission that he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, through the years - in pictures
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
5pm: Sweihan – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Shamakh, Fernando Jara (jockey), Jean-Claude Picout (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Shamkha – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Daad, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
6pm: Shakbout City – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Ghayyar, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Gold Silver, Sandro Paiva, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Masdar City – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Khalifa City – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Ranchero, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
