How Prince William and Harry Rebel Against the Queen

When it comes to the royal family, Prince William and Prince Harry have always been known to rebel a bit more than previous generations. That’s likely due to their mom’s influence — Princess Diana did everything she could to make sure they felt “normal” while growing up. Well, as normal as anyone in line for the British royal throne can feel, that is.

Harry, especially, has a habit of going against Queen Elizabeth’s wishes every now and then. In her book Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss, and Love ($11.59, Amazon), Katie Nicholl says it’s Harry’s iconic ginger beard that’s currently irking his grandmother. The queen apparently prefers all men to be clean-shaven unless they are in the military or out in the wild. To be fair, Harry first grew his facial hair while serving in the army, but decided to keep it as a permanent look. It does give him a more rugged appearance that she may not prefer, but we can certainly get behind it.

Harry isn’t alone in getting the Queen’s occasional disapproval, either. William’s love of motorbikes has also been a major cause for concern. He famously spent the day before his wedding tooling around London and has joined in various charity rides. Royal photographer James Whitaker told Express, “I think it frightens the life out of people at Buckingham Palace and almost certainly, the Queen too.”

Kate reportedly sides with her grandmother-in-law when it comes to this hobby. And in the Queen’s defense, this seems less about royal protocol and more about wanting to protect her grandson — which is pretty sweet to think about. Now that he and Kate have three little ones though, William has agreed to put riding on the back-burner. But even if he’s going for less rides lately, there’s no denying he still has an affection for bikes. The Express article quoted William explaining, “It does help being anonymous with my motorcycle helmet on because it does enable me to relax.” That’s definitely understandable when you’re one of the most recognizable people on the planet.