Prince Harry, known for taking swipes at his brother Prince William's receding hairline, is facing the bald truth that his ginger locks are also thinning.
Trichologists who have examined photographs taken during his recent trip to America have concluded that Harry is succumbing to genetic male pattern baldness and predict he will suffer significant hair loss before he turns 50.
The good news for 28-year-old Harry, however, is that he is still well behind his brother William, who is expected to be completely bald before he is 40, The Times reported.
Jonny Harris, a hair loss expert and managing director of the Belgravia Centre, said Harry appears to have dihydrotestosterone, a type of testosterone that causes hair loss on the head while encouraging the growth of body hair.
"Harry may have very thin hair by the time he is 50. Prince William will be bald by the time he is 40, perhaps even by his mid-thirties. It is likely to be because Harry has dihydrotestosterone. It is a type of testosterone that is present in higher volumes among some men and that can cause hair loss," Harris said.
Harry rarely misses an opportunity to make fun of his brother's hair.
When the first portrait featuring both princes was unveiled in 2010, he joked: "He got given more hair." On another occasion he quipped that William was "already bald aged 12".
Even Prince Charles has joined the teasing. At his son's wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, he told guests: "The thing about growing older is that your children get taller than you, so they can see your bald spots. Now, in my case, I can see his."
While Charles did not begin to lose his hair until his late thirties, his brother Prince Edward was, like William, developing a bald patch in his mid-twenties.
Prince Andrew, in contrast, still has a thick head of hair at the age of 53.
Prince Philip, Harry's grandfather, began to lose his hair in his mid-thirties. Photographs of him playing with his children in 1955 show clear signs of his hair thinning out. Around 70 per cent of hair loss is said to be hereditary.
On Harry's mother's side of the family, baldness has again been unpredictable. Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's brother and Harry's uncle, has a full head of hair, but the Prince's maternal grandfather, the 8th Earl Spencer, lost his hair in middle age.
