Prince Harry has claimed Prince William "ordered" him to shave before his wedding to Meghan Markle.

The 38-year-old prince - who, along with his wife, took on the titles Duke and Duchess of Sussex after their 2018 marriage - sought permission from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, to keep his facial hair for his nuptials and said his older sibling was "livid" when she gave him the "green light" to do so.

Harry told William “his opinion didn’t really matter” because of the queen's decision but he said his brother "raised his voice" and accused him of putting their grandmother in an "uncomfortable position".

Writing in his memoir 'Spare', Harry claimed William told him: “She had no choice buy to say yes."

And the row continued for some time.

Harry wrote: “He wouldn’t let it go. At one point he actually ordered me, as the Heir speaking to the Spare, to shave. Are you serious?”

The prince believed William was so bothered because he thought the queen had a "soft spot" for him, and also because the Prince of Wales "wasn't allowed" to keep his "full beard" after returning from military duty, or be able to get married in a uniform of his own choosing, as Harry could.

He wrote in an extract obtained by Us Weekly magazine: "He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he’d been denied."

After growing tired of hearing William "complain bitterly", Harry eventually put his foot down.

He wrote: “Finally, I told him flatly and defiantly that his bearded brother was getting married soon, and he could either get on board or not. The choice was to him.”

The BetterUp CIO also claimed his older sibling shot down the idea of Harry and Meghan marrying at Westminster Abbey, where he and Catherine, Princess of Wales, had tied the knot in 2011, and told them St. Pauls Cathedral - the venue for the wedding of their parents, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana - was "too grand" for them.

The couple went on to marry at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.