Prince William welcomed to 'the bald club' by serving members

After years of going visibly thin on top, the number two to the throne has gone for a number one haircut.

Prince William revealed his new do - which according to some reports cost £180 - on a recent visit to a hospital.

Members of the Royal Family have been known to tease the 35-year-old about his hairline.

To mark the occasion, a number of fellow "follically-challenged" chaps tell Newsbeat about their first times picking up the clippers.

'Never leave your house without a hat'

It might sound obvious from Bryan Johnstone, but even he's been caught out in the ten years since his hair took an unauthorised absence.

"I'd like to welcome Prince William to the bald man's club, or as I'd like to call it the 'Phil Mitchell appreciation society,'" the 31-year-old from East Kilbride tells Newsbeat.

"The strangest thing that's happened to me is random people coming up and touching my head because they liked the way it felt.

"Which is a wee bit strange. However I quite enjoyed it."

'I started being more shy and embarrassed around people'

Jake Newson, who's 24, told us he initially struggled with his receding hairline because he felt people "were constantly staring" at him.

He initially tried to hide it with a combover, before finally accepting his hair loss with the help of family and friends.

"My dad, my grandad, they're all bald," he says. "So I've just started learning to live with it."

'Everyone said I looked much better'

"I'd like to welcome Prince William to the bald men's club!" says Steven Blackwell from his hot tub on holiday.

The South Wales resident credits his brother for shaving his hair when it started to thin - and the evidence provided suggests Steven's pretty happy about it.

'It's going to be the look of 2018'

Charlie never leaves home without a hat during winter - mainly because of the "friendly" banter he gets from his mates

Charlie from Cambridge had no option but to get used to having less hair than most, after he started going bald at 17.

"I went fully bald and took the plunge," the now 23-year-old tells Newsbeat from a skiing holiday in the Alps.

"When I first went bald it was a little bit of a funny one to get used to, looking in the mirror was very different.

"Other than that, it's a great look."

'I'd just bleached my hair, for what turned out to be the last time'

"I noticed it was a bit thin on top and thought 'that doesn't look good,'" remembers 30-year-old Ian Hilditch.

He took things into his own hands at the age of 24 using an electric razor set to grade zero.

"It was a bit daunting at first, then after a while you get used to it, and so do other people".

"I was one of those people who loved to put hair gel on but, you know, this is life."

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