Prince William has sparked a frenzy by bringing back a much-debatated feature to his royal duties.
The Prince of Wales visited a ground-breaking homelessness exhibition featuring art created by former rough sleepers in his first public engagement since the summer holidays. William’s Homewards project, which aims to develop a blueprint for eradicating homelessness in all its forms, is the driving force behind the art attraction which opened at the Saatchi Gallery in London.
On arriving at the gallery today, William looked smart in his usual dark navy suit paired with an open-collared blue shirt. And royal fans were quick to notice that he had grown back his beard that had previously sent fans wild earlier this summer.
Prince William on a visit to the Saatchi Gallery today ( Image: PA)
William’s unshaven look caused a stir several weeks ago when he and Kate appeared in a video that was posted on their Instagram page congratulating Team GB for its performance at the Paris Olympics. Dressed casually in a polo shirt, William said: “Well done on all you achieved” in the clip. But many viewers were left distracted by his stubble. However, while driving to Crathie Kirk days later on his Balmoral holiday, the Prince of Wales was clean-shaven, with the beard gone.
It led to royal fans saying they were left ‘in mourning’ that his much-talked-about beard appeared to have been shaved off. But today it was back as he visited the gallery – much to the delight of many.
Taking to X, one fan said: “Prince William has a beard again. Thank you, William” while another joked: “What are my eyes seeing?! I love this era.” One fan wrote on the site: “William’s beard is back and he’s never looked better! Let’s hope he keeps the razor away this time.” While another quipped: “OMG Prince William’s beard is back!”
William has grown his beard back ( Image: PA)
William visited a groundbreaking exhibition which explores homelessness ( Image: PA)
Today, while at the gallery, William meet some of the artists who have contributed to the exhibition, including photographer Rankin, and chatted to some of the young people who helped create the artwork from doors. Called Homelessness: Reframed, the exhibition features sculptures, photographs and everyday objects given a new life by artists, who may have experienced homelessness, in a bid to tell personal stories and give a fresh perspective on the issue.
The attraction has three parts: a collection of mainly hand-drawn signs sometimes seen next to a person sleeping rough, artwork commissions, and doors turned into art by young people, from the six areas where Homewards is working, during workshops led by local artists who have been homeless.
Award-winning social justice artist David Tovey created Home 2013, a shed-like structure made from scraps of metal and panels from a Peugeot 206, the model of car the artist lived in for six months. Mick Clarke, chief executive of homelessness charity, The Passage, said Mr Tovey had used the charity’s services and now hosted art classes at one of its residential projects.
William tours the exhibition in London ( Image: PA)
He added: “What I love about the Reframed exhibition is this gives an opportunity again to put a spotlight on how we’ve got to get homelessness away from something society thinks is inevitable and something that we manage, to something that can be prevented from happening.”
The Passage, which William supports as royal patron, helped the Homewards team find artists for the exhibition, and its chief executive added: “You have this exhibition where it’s taking people on the journey of homelessness and the trauma people have been through, but also the positivity coming out the other end.”
Kensington Palace announced the engagement several weeks ago and also confirmed William will be heading to Wales next week. On Tuesday, he will travel to Llanelli in South Wales to celebrate Welsh sport and culture and visit a primary school, a women’s rugby team and the Wales Air Ambulance.
