Prince Harry Gave A Cheeky Nod To The Jokes About His Hair Loss In An Invictus Games Speech

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Balding is a curse that the men in the British royal family have had to bear for generations. Prince Philip suffered from it, King Charles III inherited it, and so did his two sons. Prince Harry's "alarming baldness" got worse in 2025, and at one point, rumors were swirling that the Duke of Sussex had got a hair transplant (given the fact that he's still balding we'd say they were entirely false). But, when you deal with a hereditary condition you can't do much about, arguably the best thing to do is to simply take it in stride — and crack a joke about it every now and then. Prince Harry's tragic hairline being put on blast publicly has not gone unnoticed by the prince. In fact, Harry made a joke about his thinning mane as he celebrated the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in July 2026. 

While delivering a speech at the Games' venue, the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, the bestselling author mused about how much time had passed since he first launched the event, quipping, "Some of us have lost our hair," per People. The Invictus Games seems to be Harry's go-to event for discussing his crowning glory. At the 2022 event, the prince joked that he knew balding was inevitable, sadly acknowledging, "I'm doomed," per People. During a July 2026 interview on the "Joe Marler Will See You Now" podcast, Harry discussed his famous red mane, clarifying that he actually prefers to refer to it as "sunset auburn." And while the royal defector takes meticulous care of his beard, Harry isn't exactly scrambling to save his locks. "Nothing really happening on top," he admitted. "I try to get a haircut, otherwise, I try not to look at what's happening."

Prince Harry and his older brother Prince William might not see eye to eye, but they share many of the same quirks. The Prince of Wales, like his younger brother, has also opted to approach his balding head with humor. William's hair loss is much more advanced than Harry's, but the future king is totally pulling off the look in our book, especially since he started sporting a beard (and broke the internet in the process). The prince showed he's taking his thinning hair in stride during a March 2025 visit to the West Midlands. William approached a royal fan sporting a shock of bright red hair, and enthused, "Look at your hair! I wish I had hair like that. I know, I've not a chance," (via X). The beloved royal's jokes about his crowning glory date back many years. In 2017, William conceded to a hairstylist, "I don't have much hair, I can't give you much business," as People reported at the time. 

During an appearance on "Sorted Food" in 2023, the Prince of Wales also delivered a quip about his hair while promoting his Earthshot Prize initiative. "I don't know if you guys have heard about the Earthshot Prize, but it's an initiative I started about two years ago now, although it's been about four years in the making — I had hair when it started," he cracked. In Harry's tell-all memoir, "Spare," he memorably referred to his estranged older brother's balding head as "alarming," while pointing out that it was "more advanced than mine." The royal defector surmised that William's lack of hair was causing him to look less and less like their late mother, Princess Diana, to whom the prince always bore a close resemblance.