Prince William is a royally good sport.
The Prince of Wales, 42, cracked a joke about his thinning hair while in the West Midlands in England on Tuesday.
Prince William greeted a slew of locals and one woman in particular — who sported bright red hair — caught his eye during the walk-through.
The royal was visiting the Sporting Khalsa Football Club in Willenhall to oversee a referee training course?organized by the Football Association, which he is a patron of.
The goal of this week is to recruit 1,000 individuals from Black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds for various referee roles.
“Look at your hair! It’s fantastic,” William said to the woman, who had a short fiery red head of hair, in footage posted to X.
“Wish I had hair like that,” he teased with a laugh. “I know, I’ve not a chance.”
This isn’t the first time Prince William made a self-deprecating crack at his God-given locks — or lack thereof.
The British royal previously joked that he “had hair” at the 2020 launch of his environmental award, the Earthshot Prize.
Talking about the background of the prize, William addressed the crowd: “I don’t know if you guys have heard about the Earthshot Prize, but it’s an initiative I started about two years ago. Now, although it’s been about four years in the making, I?had hair?when it started. It’s designed as an environmental prize tackling the world’s greatest environmental problems.”
In 2017, William was visiting a cafe that was set up by a homeless charity and joked with the hairstylist next door, Taz Kabria, “I don’t have much hair, I can’t give you much business.”
But over the summer, Prince William sent the internet into a frenzy when he rocked a beard for the first time in 16 years.
The Prince of Wales typically goes for the clean-shaven look, but in August, he appeared alongside his wife,?Kate Middleton,?to congratulate Team Great Britain for their 2024 Paris Olympics success. In the clip, William had a full beard — something he hadn’t worn in public since 2008.
“I love it. I think it’s great,” his former royal aide, Jason Knauf, said in a February interview with “60 Minutes Australia.”
“But I’ve talked to him about it — or tried to talk to him about it. He’s like, ‘It’s here. I have a beard.’ No further conversation.'”
When asked if the Princess of Wales approved of the scruff, Knauf quipped, “If she didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be there. I could tell you that.”
Prince William is far less concerned by what the public thinks about his facial hair. In fact, the former aide also revealed the beloved couple has no interest in the “fame and celebrity” that comes with being a royal.
“Neither of the prince or the princess would choose to be public figures,” Knauf admitted.
“They’re not that interested in the fame and celebrity that comes with it. In fact, not really interested at all. I think that makes it quite interesting in today’s world to see people out there doing their jobs but for the right reasons.”
He also noted that Kate and William don’t try to control the narrative on social media.
“I don’t think anyone can control the image of anyone in today’s media world, social media world,” Knauf said. “You just can’t. All you can do is help people be themselves.”
“With both of these people, the prince and the princess, what you see is what you really get behind the scenes as well.”
