Beards on parade: Welsh Guards show off their facial hair after King Charles ended 100-year ban
16 April 2024, 16:52
British Army soldiers have been showing off their new beards for the first time after King Charles gave the green light to lift a 100-year ban on facial hair.
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Members of the Welsh Guards have become the first to be pictured sporting their military whiskers, while wearing their iconic black bearskin hats and red tunics.
The infantry soldiers are part of the Army's Household Division and are charged with guarding royal palaces and carrying out frontline combat operations overseas.
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The Welsh Guards posted images of their ranks on X, formerly Twitter, saying: "The beards have arrived! Like it or lump it, the beards are here!
"Members of Number 2 Company proudly took up their posts on Kings Guard this morning, marching from Wellington Barracks to Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace."
Soldiers and officers were finally allowed to grow a full beard after King Charles gave his approval last month.
The beards must be “neat” so that standards within the service do not drop and personnel stressed that the decision was not to be seen as a “free-for-all”.
The service said all beards would be reviewed to ensure they were in line with regulations.
The Welsh Guards undertakes both a light infantry role in the Army as well as standing as ceremonial figures outside royal residences and in Trooping of Colour, with their recognisable red tunics.
