When I first put a face to the name of “James Middleton,” I found him odd and giving a weird sort of vibe. That was back in 2011, when suddenly James and Pippa Middleton were “thrust” into the limelight around Kate’s wedding to Prince William. At the time, I enjoyed all of the Pippa Middleton gossip (that was honestly fun), but even back then, James seemed to give off a “hapless” energy. Back then, he was clean shaven. I truly believe that once Kate secured the ring, Carole Middleton hired some publicists and PR specialists to help out the rest of the family, including Pippa and James. James was, I believe, told that he should grow a beard ASAP. And so he did. James has been rocking a well-trimmed beard for years now. But no more!
I actually forgot that James was supposed to marry his fiancee Alizee Thevenet this summer – they postponed their wedding back in March, near the start of the British lockdown. But James still wanted to mark the OG wedding date in some way, so he decided to show Alizee his naked, fur-free face. He posted this Instagram video where he shaves off his beard (with his puppies looking on) and then reveals his face to Alizee, in what looks like the back garden of Middleton Manor? I’ll say this – Alizee is super-cute here. Um… how did she end up with James?? Anyway, I hope she’s already whispered, “baby, can you grow it back?”
Photos courtesy of James Middleton’s Instagram, Avalon Red.
Ugh, he looks like a cut-price Richard E. Grant.
Ugh is right; he’s a tad slimy. He also reminds me of a young Tim Curry.
He looks a LOT like Kate now w/out the beard. And a lot younger. Frankly, while I love trimmed beards, I like him w/out it. I can’t see him with a beard w/out seeing the old Russian Tzars and Petty Betty’s relatives.
Better with the beard, for sure.
yeah, I was like “poor man’s Jude Law with the beard”
“and HOWDY FREAKIN’ DOODY without it”
I’m not a big fan of most beards but…eesh, grow it back, man.
Both my husband and son look better with their beards/goatees, not exactly sure why. Same with my daughter’s boyfriend. They all have good chins, so they’re not hiding some flaw. I dunno. And yes, James should grow it back.
FFS, James, grow it BACK!
Ugh, that jaw line is really weak. Looks much better with the beard!
😳
I like the golden retriever in the back of the photo.
Beards are the dude version of contouring, basically.
My husband has trimmed his way down, but we haven’t hit the point where he’s about to shave it. He’s got some non-n95 masks for work but they seem to fit well as-is.
I remember when my mom said my dad only shaved once – when he went to the army. She basically told him if he ever did it again, they’re done. It was more of a joke, but I’ve only ever seen him without it on the old photos since before I was born.
I can certainly understand it! My husband went clean shaved before our wedding. Not sure why either of us thought it was a good idea to be honest. He looks SO young without the beard, it’s just amusing. If he has to end up shaving, he’ll have to end up shaving – but I’ll be impatiently waiting for it to grow back, for sure.
Yup! Beards are like makeup for men. I find that most men look better with beards than clean shaven, including James! He needs to grow it back, this is not a good look, lol.
Even the dog is giving him the wth eye in that photo hahaha. He should grow some facial hair definitely looks better but I also understand if he was tired of maintaining and caring for it.
The dog in the background looks very handsome.
Oh no Lordy grow the beard back pronto. Kate and Pippa got the best jawlines for sure.
Beards are the great equalizer for men – often they make average looking guys more handsome, and good looking guys more average looking.
Aww, I don’t think it’s so bad. The one pic is horribly goofy but the one where she is kissing him on the cheek is nice. Husband has always had a beard/moustache, occasionally he ‘over trims’ it too short and looks like a mole — I just hate it until it grows out. I saw an old pic of him shaved and he looks like Meatloaf … I do not express these thoughts out loud.
I find him attractive but he must have the beard.
I also found him attractive, but for me I guess it was 75% the beard. Gotta love a man that loves dogs though.
Hiding some of THAT mug behind the beard was super savvy. Wonder if the fiancée feels duped???
He has a face that cries out for a beard.
Looks British, that’s not a good thing
It’s ok. It’ll grow back. Right?
Why is James so thirsty for public attention?
Because he’s home and bored like the rest of us? It’s the same reason Sara Michelle Geller dyed her hair pink and everyone is posting Tik Tok videos or sourdough bread updates. He usually posts about mental health or his dogs- it’s not like he’s out doing pap strolls with a BE FRI necklace every day.
No, the pap strolls are for Pippa merching for Kate Spade.
Let’s be real. James has private social media. This account is about promoting himself as a celebrity. He has a book coming out eventually that he got because of his sister’s fame and you’d think he’d have relevant content he could post.
Sarah Michelle Gellar at least was a popular actor. People seek her out based on her accomplishments. James is looking for attention that he gets pretty much because of his sister.
Ugh, did he ever take any responsibility for his company putting out products with hate imagery? Or the working conditions?
@Silas SMG, while awesome, isn’t Malala and neither is her instagram.
And James doesn’t have relevant content because no one has relevant content. (Although you’re welcome to visit his many OTHER “relevant content” posts or “accomplishments” where he raising awareness and funds for mental health. He has plenty.)
The world is on fire, and doing silly things on social media is all we have.
@molly. You think James doesn’t have relevant content on dealing with mental health during a pandemic? Really?
You mentioned SMG and now Malala. You keep switching focus to people who actually worked for their relevance.
You can keep trying to switch the focus off of James but he’s the one putting himself out there on his public insta for attention. What is with the Middleton siblings’ thirst to be celebrities?
Are you connected with James in some way? Because the You’re welcome to… bit was very extra on your part. Clearly you’re very familiar with his instagram posts.
Lol, there was a rumor that James anonymously engages with people online. That can’t be this.
SMG worked as an actor at some point. James Middleton has never held a job like her where he was required to do something for someone else. He is in the public eye solely because of his sister. His mental health iGs would have no audience if not for being Kate’s brother. He is Bill Clinton’s brother, basically desperate for fame and not being of any value to society.
If there are people who get comfort or support by James talking about his mental health, then that is a good thing.
It’s good that he had a support system that could step in and help him.
What I find off-putting about James is that we have heard nothing about him helping remedy what happened at Boomf. Does he feel any responsibility about the imagery sent out, the people who were put in charge, quality of work environment for the employees, and the people who invested? He seems like a spoiled twit who has other people clean up after him while he goes to the GQ awards and posts about shaving his beard on instagram.
@Silas @Nic919- Neither of you seem to understand the purpose of instagram or this website. If you find the lack of substance on either bothersome, I suggest you seek out other places to consume digital content.
Could you explain it to us, @molly?
You don’t care about what I care about and you feel entitled to tell me I shouldn’t care either. if I do, I don’t understand the point of this site or Instagram. Our whole interaction summed up.
I do find the lack of follow up from James regarding what happened at Boomf bothersome. I don’t think it’s cute that instead he’s being attention-seeking. The platform (especially this site) doesn’t change that or make it irrelevant.
AHAHAH freaking heck guys. People aren’t seeking SMG out for her accomplishments. Nobody is like “hey thank god SMG accomplished so much by dressing in ridiculous outfits while pretending to fight vampires”.
At the end of the day who cares? I mean, really. I like SMG but lets not pretend that she’s some wildly talented accomplished professional. She was a huge hit in a role that people loved. But let’s not pretend the role was difficult at all, or involved a real understanding of her craft.
At this point James is well recognized, and people like the royal connection. I don’t see why it bothers people that he has an instagram when literally instagram is basically entirely a thirst trap. People who are using instagram to do ~*~serious~*~ content aren’t using the platform the way it was originally intended, really, and I don’t think we should hold anyone on a pedestal for it because it should never have been taken THAT seriously.
At the end of the day – it’s their personal accounts. If they want to post dumb shit, that’s cool. If they want to post something for awareness, that’s cool. If you don’t like it, don’t follow them? I mean, really, I don’t understand why this bothers people when all types of instagram users can easily be ignored.
I’m commenting here, not on James’ Instagram. Do you think James thinks his public posts won’t be picked up by the media? He wants the attention for just being a celebrity. But all the attention isn’t going to be positive.
I don’t care about SMG but I couldn’t tell you the names of her parents or siblings because that’s not why she’s famous. People seek her out because she was Buffy.
James is absolutely being a thirst trap and I think it’s distasteful because of what happened with Boomf. If you guys want to not care and give him a clean slate, that’s on you guys. I didn’t tell you or molly to care. But I don’t understand why you have a problem or don’t understand why I find it bothersome.
This is a lot of pushback for something we all agree on -that James is thirsty. You guys find it cute and charming. I find it tacky.
If we are going to discuss gossip, then we should be acknowledging that James Middleton is fame adjacent and would be a no one but for who his sister married. I don’t actually care about SMG, but she at least got known for doing something on her own and it’s not like Buffy was a nothing show. It has a cult following. She may be thirsty for more fame but she is not a total nobody like jimmy nazi marshmallow do you know who my sister married Middleton. And she’s held an actual job. Something no Middleton child has ever done.
He was seeking attention for years.
He looks like if Jude Law and Gilbert Gottfried had a child.
My husband shaved his beard off during lockdown and I couldn’t look at him. I felt like I was cheating on him, he looked so different and so young! Luckily (for me) it grew back in a just over a week.
He looks tons better with the beard, but his GF’s reaction was very sweet.
He seems sweet. They make a cute couple.
James with a beard gave me King George the V vibes. I do wonder if Harry will get the same reaction if he shaves off his beard. I feel like both James and Harry are guys who are more aesthetically pleasing with a beard, and not clean-shaven, but I’m not into dudes, so my opinion might not be worth much.
Looks a bit like Jude law. I don’t mean I’m into it but that’s my first impression
Lol this was cute. I definitely prefer the beard on him but he’s not hideous without hit, just plain looking. I like his speaking voice, I just realized I don’t think I’ve ever really paid attention to his voice before (I know he did a reading at Kate’s wedding but I can’t remember that at all and was only vaguely aware Kate had a brother before that). Alizee’s reaction was so cute, I’m sure she prefers the beard too but glad James has been able to find some happiness. He might be a useless business entrepreneur but he seems nice enough.
He def looks better with a beard. But it’ll grow back, as I’m sure Alizee keeps telling herself, lol.
Oh dear G*D…grow it BACK.
Sunscreen is your friend Middleton’s. Just sayin.
His fiancé is always gorgeous. Natural beauty.
Even the comments at daily fail are mocking him😂why did he do this???!!! He looks bad. I hope it grows back quickly.
I too wonder how he got Alizee? She’s so pretty and smart+from a rich family. He’s punching above his weight so he better stop leaching on his parents soon!
I meannnn…. ahh…. the last photo with her kissing him is pretty cute. But agreed, beards on guys really can change a face… often in a more errmm handsomer way…
Sans beard, he looks like your average royal, gotta be real. They all kinda look like a version of this to me.
He needs a beard.
Quite unattractive. Need braces too.
NO. Just NO. Unattractive before, hideous now.
That’s my thought as well. Beard or no beard, it’s a no from me dawg.
Grow it back Nicholas II!!!
Hideous. He looks like a creep.
so That’s what Louis will look like when he grows up!