It’s safe to say that the British royals have been through a lot during the past couple of years, and somehow, Prince William has found himself in the middle of many of the family’s struggles. From Harry and Meghan’s decision to step away from royal life in Britain to Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis, as well as King Charles’ own diagnosis, William has had a lot on his plate. This has made the public concerned about his own well-being, especially after the future king was spotted with a beard, which was considered a major no-no during the reign of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

William’s new “looks” made people talk, and many started speculating that there was something wrong with his health. The Palace hasn’t addressed those rumors, which have been widely reported by major media outlets.

While the royals have all the right to protect their privacy, being public figures, they probably should be more outspoken about their lives. At least the public would appreciate that.

Just how protective the royals are of their privacy is evident from the fact that they have never issued any official statement regarding the accusations made against them by Prince Harry and his wife.

Even though they’ve been put on the spot about Prince Harry more times than anyone can count, Prince William and the rest of the royals have stuck to a strict script of total silence. They just refuse to bite or share how they really feel. That said, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t think Harry’s public jabs and accusations didn’t cut incredibly deep behind closed doors.

Keeping out of the controversy is textbook Royal Family behavior. It’s all about “no complaints, no explanations” – keeping things behind closed doors. While it totally makes sense for them to want to maintain their privacy, many people are now beginning to question whether such tactics are even effective anymore. If the monarchy wants to be relevant moving forward, it seems like it’s time for them to put down the walls and allow themselves to become a little more open.

This is where Prince William enters the conversation, and the speculation surrounding his health last fall could have been the ideal moment for him to begin changing the way the Royal Family communicates with the public, having in mind both he and Kate Middleton tend to modernize the monarchy in the years to come.

Prince William’s first outing with a beard caused social media to go wild, but not only because of the new facial hair; many of the commenters also pointed out that he appeared much slimmer and seemed rather tired.

Let us make one thing clear—no one wants anyone to reveal their personal health issues to the entire world, especially since the prince is under such intense scrutiny. However, at the same time, there seems to be a widespread perception that William would benefit greatly from sitting down once in a while and giving a sincere interview about the pressures of being a royal and concerns surrounding his health.

It seems like total transparency isn’t just a nice idea for the Royal Family anymore but practically a survival tactic.