Once the Prince and Princess of Wales made the commitment to Busy Thursdays, they could not waiver. Well, honestly, Princess Kate will use any excuse to only work one day a week, and that was on Wednesday for the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Kate waved off this week’s Busy Thursday, while William put on some military drag and visited Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. He’s Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment, and they were deployed to Estonia last year as part of a NATO mission. So he was visiting with them for the first time since they returned back home. He also made a special point of doing a breakout talk session with enlisted women, which was almost definitely supposed to be the focus and headline of the visit: “Pro-Woman prince speaks with enlisted gals.” Unfortunately for all, William went off script when he was talking to the enlisted men, so now we’re talking about mustaches and awkwardness.
Prince William has joked he will shave off his designer beard and leave a moustache to join troops sporting fashionable facial hair. The Prince of Wales, who grew his own beard in the summer of 2024, admired the moustaches of the soldiers during a visit to the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment at Bulford, Wiltshire. Stroking his beard, he said: “I might end up taking mine off and leaving a tash.”
Told by Lt Jack Austin, 26, that the craze had started when 1 Mercian was serving in Estonia last year, the Prince noted that the style is “creeping in now”. The British Army changed its rules to allow neatly-groomed facial hair on soldiers in March 2024.
During his visit to Bulford, the Prince was shown the latest training techniques, including an exercise using drones to help with building clearance, and met families.
One mum, 63-year-old Maxine Debonnaire, left the future King laughing after she jokingly told him she had barely seen her son since he returned from Estonia because he had been out on so many dates. “I think we’ll get on very well,” William told her, putting an arm around her as 26-year-old Lt Harris Debonnaire laughed along and confirmed he had in fact taken her out for Mother’s Day.
The Prince joined the officers, soldiers, and families of B Company in the Officers’ Mess to hear about their recent six-month deployment to Estonia on Operation Cabrit – the UK’s contribution to NATO’s Forward Land Forces in Estonia and Poland.
Whew, let’s get into it, shall we? I actually believe that William’s ugly beard is very unpopular among royalists and the royal press. They rarely bring it up, nor did they ever talk about how creepy it is that William wanted a beard just like his brother. One of my biggest peeves about William’s beard is that he keeps it hyper-groomed and yet it looks both prissy and dirty. Either grow out a full salt-and-pepper beard (like King Felipe) or don’t bother, you know? But if he tries a mustache, people will be really upset. He’ll look absolutely horrible, even worse than he looks now (lmao).
As for this: “…After she jokingly told him she had barely seen her son since he returned from Estonia because he had been out on so many dates. ‘I think we’ll get on very well,’ William told her, putting an arm around her…” What the f–k? At first, I was like “is he trying to say that he’s also going out on dates constantly?” But no, it’s like he’s hitting on the mom?? What a deeply awkward man.



Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
- 26/03/2026. Bulford, UK. His Royal Highness joined a conversation with a female network, giving him the opportunity to hear directly about their experiences of serving as a woman in the Armed Forces. The Prince then observed training in the regiment’s bespoke urban training facility, where they are trialling and experimenting with drones in urban combat. His Royal Highness also joined the officers, soldiers, and families of B Company following their recent deployment to Estonia at a coffee morning in the Officers’ Mess, to hear about their experiences over the last six months. Finally, The Prince presented three Long Service and Good Conduct medals to soldiers.,Image: 1086415760, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
- 26/03/2026. Bulford, UK. His Royal Highness joined a conversation with a female network, giving him the opportunity to hear directly about their experiences of serving as a woman in the Armed Forces. The Prince then observed training in the regiment’s bespoke urban training facility, where they are trialling and experimenting with drones in urban combat. His Royal Highness also joined the officers, soldiers, and families of B Company following their recent deployment to Estonia at a coffee morning in the Officers’ Mess, to hear about their experiences over the last six months. Finally, The Prince presented three Long Service and Good Conduct medals to soldiers.,Image: 1086415792, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
- 26/03/2026. Bulford, UK. His Royal Highness joined a conversation with a female network, giving him the opportunity to hear directly about their experiences of serving as a woman in the Armed Forces. The Prince then observed training in the regiment’s bespoke urban training facility, where they are trialling and experimenting with drones in urban combat. His Royal Highness also joined the officers, soldiers, and families of B Company following their recent deployment to Estonia at a coffee morning in the Officers’ Mess, to hear about their experiences over the last six months. Finally, The Prince presented three Long Service and Good Conduct medals to soldiers.,Image: 1086415813, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
- Britain’s Prince William (C), Prince of Wales as Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, meets with soldiers of the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment and family members following their six-month deployment to Estonia, in Bulford in south-west England on March 26, 2026.,Image: 1086422638, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JUSTIN TALLIS/Avalon
- Britain’s Prince William (R), Prince of Wales as Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment, chats with Captain Maria Bell (L), head of the Mercian Female Network, during his visit to the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment in Bulford in south-west England on March 26, 2026.,Image: 1086422844, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JUSTIN TALLIS/Avalon
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Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, speaks to female members of the regiment during a visit to 1 Mercian at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.
Featuring: William, Prince of Wales – Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment
Where: Salisbury, United Kingdom
When: 26 Mar 2026
Credit: Justin Tallis/PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, speaks to female members of the regiment during a visit to 1 Mercian at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.
Featuring: William, Prince of Wales – Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment
Where: Salisbury, United Kingdom
When: 26 Mar 2026
Credit: Justin Tallis/PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, speaks to female members of the regiment during a visit to 1 Mercian at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.
Featuring: William, Prince of Wales – Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment
Where: Salisbury, United Kingdom
When: 26 Mar 2026
Credit: Justin Tallis/PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, (right) meets with soldiers of the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment and family members following their six-month deployment to Estonia, during a visit to Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.
Featuring: William, Prince of Wales – Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment
Where: Salisbury, United Kingdom
When: 26 Mar 2026
Credit: Justin Tallis/PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
