Prince Harry has baffled his fans thanks to a lengthy discussion about beards during his ITV interview.
The former working royal explained to interviewer Tom Bradby how his beard acted as "almost like a shield to my anxiety" at times and how he felt "very, very different" without facial hair - something he thinks "beard people" will be able to understand.
Harry: The Interview aired on ITV this evening, with the Duke of Sussex, 38, going into unprecedented depth and detail on life in and out of the royal family.
But in addition to discussing how he lost his virginity to an older woman and how he sees his late mother Princess Diana in his dreams, Harry also spoke about a lighter topic - beards.
The dad-of-two recalls in his debut memoir Spare - out Tuesday - how he had to ask the late Queen Elizabeth II for permission to keep his beard when he tied the knot with Meghan Markle on May 19 2018.
"The argument about the beard is one of the most puzzling in the book," Tom told viewers watching the special ITV show this evening.
"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."
Speaking to Harry during their interview, Tom suggested the drama about his beard was perhaps linked to something deeper.
"I remembered that William had a beard himself and that granny and other people, the ones to tell – told him that he had to shave it off," Harry explained to Tom during their chat.
"Um, the difference for me, if there was a difference, but the difference for me was, as I explained to my grandmother, that this beard I'm still – that I'm still wearing, felt to me at the time like the new Harry. Right?"
He went on how his brother possibly "found it hard" that other people had told him to shave his own facial hair off, while Harry was able to wear his military uniform - with an all-important beard - on his and Meghan's wedding day in 2018.
"I would feel very, very different without my beard, and that’s hard for people to understand who’ve never grown a beard, um, but hopefully those beard people out there will go 'Yeah, no, I fully get that, I can understand'," Harry adds when discussing how important his facial hair was to him.
Viewers were quick to take to social media as the interview aired this evening - with a few "beard people" standing in solidarity with Harry on Twitter.
"As a beard person out there watching, Harry. I get it. #HarryTheInterview #PrinceHarry #BeardGate," one Twitter user perhaps sarcastically wrote online.
"You’ve gotta be fair Prince Harry looks banging with a beard #HarryTheInterview," another gushed, with a third adding: "As a ‘beard person’, I do relate. #PrinceHarry #HarryTheInterview."
One mused how this interview will go down in history, jokingly tweeting: "Pupils in 2074 having to write an essay on the royal beard war... #PrinceHarry."
Another cheekily took aim at the hair on both Prince William and Harry's head, as they quipped: "To be fair, they did both need to tell each other to brave the shave..... it just wasn't the beard that was the issue! #HarryTheInterview #PrinceHarry."
While it may seem trivial, Harry became the first royal in 125 year to get married with a beard when he walked down the aisle and exchanged vows with former Suits actress Meghan in 2018.
The last royal to tie the knot sporting face fuzz was George V , the son of Queen Victoria and Harry's great-great grandfather.
