Meet Prince William's new right-hand man - a seasoned helicopter pilot

Prince William's new equerry was today revealed as Squadron Leader Mike Reynolds - who is also a trained helicopter pilot and has a matching beard.

Sqn Ldr Reynolds is heading on secondment from the Royal Air Force to replace Commander Rob Dixon, who is heading back to the Royal Navy after four years.

Equerries are officers from one of the three branches of the Armed Forces who are seconded to assist senior royals in the course of their royal duties.

This involves organising and helping out at public engagements, to arranging official diaries - with about six of them working in the Royal Household at any one time.

Now, The Sun has revealed Sqn Ldr Reynolds will take the role, which dates back to the 16th century and aims to reinforce the Crown's role as Head of the Armed Forces.

As for William's beard, he debuted this in a video with his wife Kate on August 11, when they praised the achievements of Team GB's athletes after the Paris Olympics.

Equerries working for Royal Family cost MoD £500,000 last year

The Ministry of Defence spent £506,681.18 supplying equerries from the Armed Forces to work for members of the Royal Family last year.

The figure was revealed in a Freedom of Information request in March by anti-monarchist group Republic, which condemned it as a 'waste' of funding.

Buckingham Palace said at the time that it was a matter for the MoD.

The department did not comment but in documents explained that military personnel are deployed as royal equerries funded and paid by the MoD.

It said that these costs are 'not fully reimbursed by the Royal Household'.

However, it stressed the 'vast majority' are fixed staff costs, which would be incurred by the MoD regardless of where the personnel were employed.

And the Prince of Wales then sported it in public for the first time on September 5 during a visit to a homelessness exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

The Duke of Sussex previously claimed his brother William was jealous of his beard and ordered him to shave it off before he married Meghan Markle in May 2018.

Harry wrote in his autobiography Spare how William became 'livid' and 'raised his voice' when the duke said he had already asked permission from their grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, to keep his beard for his wedding.

The Duke said the argument went on for more than a week on the phone and in person, adding: 'He wouldn't let it go. At one point he actually ordered me, as the heir speaking to the spare, to shave.'

He claimed William 'hated' the idea that he was allowed to keep his beard – a perk denied to William at the time.

Today, William is set to thank Aberdeen's homelessness sector for their efforts supporting rough sleepers when he visits the city to hear about their work.

William's Homewards project, which aims to develop a blueprint for eradicating homelessness in all its forms, is established in the city and he will also meet some of its team.

Blue Light Card - a leading discount scheme for the emergency services, NHS, social care sector and armed forces - has now expanded its remit to include workers in the homelessness sector.

It is has also become an official supporter or 'activator' of the Homewards programme, alongside Pret A Manger and Homebase.

Founded in 2008 by former police officer Steve Denny and business partner Tom Dalby, the Blue Light Card allows members to join for £4.99, giving them access for two years to discounts from more than 13,000 retailers from Halfords to Cineworld.

Homewards was launched last year in six locations - Newport, Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen, Sheffield and three neighbouring Dorset towns Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch - with the aim of delivering bespoke solutions to the homelessness issues in each area.