Prince Harry's beard is proof that not all royal men are chinless wonders

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Prince Harry, who turned 31 this week, has grown a beard
Beard has prompted a storm of approval and has a fan Twitter account
Hannah Betts think it looks 'roguishly dishevelled'

Published: 18:44 EST, 16 September 2015 | Updated: 21:46 EST, 16 September 2015

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Women of Britain, I ask you to contemplate the following: not only is the nation's favourite bachelor finally back in the country, but he has brought with him a friend. Ladies, be upstanding, be grateful, for Prince Harry and his beard.

The Prince, who turned 31 this week, returned from his three-month wildlife conservation trip to Africa bearing a handsome souvenir in the form of some rather dashing facial fuzz.

The beard had its British debut at a Battle of Britain flypast at Goodwood Aerodrome on Tuesday and provoked a storm of approval. The nation - indeed, the world - it seems, is very much in lust.

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Macho man: Prince Harry, 31, sports his furry look this week at the Goodwood Aerodrome on Tuesday

Enthusiasts everywhere took to Twitter pronouncing that the already 'hot' Prince Harry was looking 'hotter than ever'.

Among images of females fanning themselves, admirers cooed their approval. 'Yum Yum,' said one, going on to declare 'you sexy thing!' Another impassioned fan sighed: 'I'd like to thank not only Jesus but God herself for blessing us with Prince Harry's beard.'

Naturally, Harry's beard already boasts its own Twitter account. 'One at a time, ladies, I can't handle all this attention,' the spoof account posted yesterday. 'There's only one of me.'

Even Vanity Fair magazine has not been immune to its charms, noting on its website that the royal growth is 'more vibrant, more lush, than ever before'.

I must confess, I have long carried a torch for the House of Windsor's resident ginger nut: a man who is witty, brave, self-deprecating, genuinely does things, and serves as a charming and relaxed ambassador for our country. There is also the small matter that he is as hot as Hades.

However, the beard has pushed the ardency of my crush seriously off the scale, propelling me into a whole new level of middle-aged, yet curiously girlish, adoration.

It's so rugged, so outdoorsy, a fitting symbol of the fact that his recent trip to Africa wasn't some posho 'gap yah' jaunt, but proper, exposed-to-the-wilds derring-do of the great white hunter-turned-conservationist variety.

This week's Goodwood guise was Top Gun meets Bear Grylls, a symbol of the fact that the Prince is the first modern royal who has really taken to military life - no token swanning around in uniform for Harry Wales.

Captain Wales is a soldier loved, teased, and respected by his peers. Before taking control of an Apache helicopter, he was a forward air controller with the Household Cavalry Regiment, a post that entailed calling in airstrikes mid-battle.

The Windsor Whiskers: Prince Philip during the war, left, and Charles, right, sporting a full beard

Notoriously, he was also a scalp that the Taliban fought hard to acquire: a situation he bore with maturity and no little heroism. When not letting off steam in Las Vegas, that is.

And - is it just me - but doesn't his facial hair actually suit him? Harry's beard speaks of throbbing testosterone, emphasising his manly features, not least his iron jaw - a macho break from the chinless wonderdom that plagues the male Windsor line.

His lustrous chin growth balances his tousled locks, the effect suavely, yet insouciantly, sexual.

Men's style bible GQ has christened it a 'starter beard' - that is a sprouting 'coming in at the 4mm bristle mark, this type of beard is not only the easiest to maintain, but it's also the smartest, adding definition to a man's face no matter how chiseled it might actually be underneath. In short, Prince Harry: man of the people (at least when it comes to facial hair).'

His lustrous chin growth balances his tousled locks, the effect suavely, yet insouciantly, sexual

For as the spare, rather than the heir, Harry can enjoy his role as the royals' resident bad boy, unlike his necessarily goody-goody – and let's be frank - slightly too boring older brother.

We love him best doing the Lightning Bolt pose with his 100m hero Usain; giving up his seat for a veteran at Tuesday's flypast, then looking after - and brandishing - the old fellow's stick; and falling and refalling in love with blonde beauties such as Chelsy Davy and aristocratic waif Cressida Bonas.

As such, he looks best when roguishly dishevelled - the very spirit of Prince Harry contained in one glinting golden chin.

Britain hasn't enjoyed a decent royal beard for a while. To be sure, Prince Michael of Kent's facial fixture makes him popular in Russia, so uncannily does his resemble that of his ancestor, Tsar Nicholas II.

However, among the Firm's principal players, beards have proved thin on the ground. Prince Andrew sported one as recently as 2011, but this was a grey and mangy affair, not much hankered after by anyone. Prince William and his father both sported Windsor whiskers when serving in the Forces or on expeditions, but renounced them just as quickly.

The Windsor whiskers continued: Andrew, left, and William, right, both showing off their facial hair

Philip boasted a lustrous growth during his war career, but with a comically upturned moustache, which may account for the Queen's notorious loathing of them.

So it has been left to Harry to champion the royal stubble. In doing so, he not only upstages his sister-in-law Kate's new fringe, but is also rightfully crowned as the royal with sex appeal.

This is not to say that, as a rule, beards are without controversy. Far from it. Women maintain a love-hate relationship with face topiary, largely coming down on the side of hate.

For while men tend to regard them as symbols of raw, primal masculinity, women tend to think: 'Good God, what a ghastly Neanderthal / Joy of Sex / Jeremy Corbyn lookalike. Keep that monstrosity away.'

Even love gods Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp are rendered unappealing behind them: Pitt resembling a ZZ Top tribute act, Depp a piratical plonker.

But cometh the hour, cometh the beard, and Harry is the exception to the rule, as indeed he is the exception to many others.

And yet I must issue a note of warning. For the last occasion on which our hero sported such a virile look was after returning from Antarctica in December 2013, when the Queen is said to have made it clear that he could keep it only for Christmas.

According to Palace insiders, HM detests any form of facial sprouting, disapproving of it among her staff and forbidding it among her offspring.

Alas, it was a decree her grandson obeyed, despite fans among the younger royals, including his cousin Zara, who nicknamed him 'Prince Hairy'.

History must not be allowed to repeat itself. Join me, sisters, in a campaign to keep the Windsor Whiskers alive. Please, Ma'am, your nation (politely) demands it.