Prince William debuted a new "back to work" look but not all royal fans were happy with the change.

Only a few weeks back, the Prince of Wales was lavished with praise as he appeared in a clip to congratulate Team GB for their efforts at the Paris Olympics with a beard.

But as he was snapped joining King Charles and Queen Camilla for Sunday service at Crathie Kirk on the Balmoral Estate over the weekend, the new facial feature was gone.

William could be seen smiling as he chatted with wife Kate, the Princess of Wales in the passenger seat.

The change of look sparked a widely shared reaction among fans, who expressed their disappointment over the change.

One social media user joked: "Catherine saw women on the internet swooning over her husband's beard and decided to make him shave it off.

"RIP beard. It was fun while it lasted. P.s. Do not expect me to stop talking about his beard."

Another said: "No doubt somebody will set up a GoFundMe page for the sadly departed Royal Beard."

Others said they would "mourn" Prince William's "rugged" looks, with one fan saying: "I’m officially entering a period of mourning for William’s beard. I only saw it once, but I’ll always remember it.

Another added: 'The sexy scruff has been cancelled, worldwide tears ensued…'

One user commented: 'Awe, bring back the beard, William!! He was looking fine—he’s still sexy, but I was digging his 5 o'clock shadow."

The beard was an unexpected comeback as the Prince of Wales tested out more rugged looks for a time over a decade ago.

William debuted a short beard in 2008 and despite claiming he would remove it after Christmas Day, the facial hair remained for quite a few weeks.