Prince Harry is going bald - just like his brother, says Britain's leading hair transplant surgeon

Prince Harry appears to have started losing his hair around his crown

The 28-year-old royal's hair is clearly showing signs of thinning in this picture taken on a recent charity trip.

Harry is showing some scalp through his famous ginger locks - indicating the beginnings of male pattern baldness, according to Britain's leading hair loss expert Asim Shahmalak from the Crown Clinic in Manchester.

Prince William started losing his hair in his early 20s and was noticeably bald by the time he was 25.

The process appears to have started a little later for his younger brother Harry, who has also inherited his family's baldness gene.

Hair transplant surgeon Dr Shahmalak said the pictures showed clear signs of hair loss.

Dr Shahmalak - hair loss expert on the Channel 4 show Embarrassing Bodies - said: "It clear that Harry is thinning around the crown area.

"It is the first signs of the male pattern baldness which has affected both his brother and his father.

"Around a quarter of men start going bald before the age of 30, so this is hardly a big surprise especially when it runs in the family as it does for the Windsors.

"If Harry's hair loss progresses in the normal way, I would expect him to have a significant bald patch around his crown by the time he is 40. It will be worse if it also spreads to his hairline as it has with his brother.

"Hair loss can have a devastating impact on a young men like Harry.

"It can shatter their confidence and lead to significant loss of self esteem."

Dr Shahmalak said that a strong family gene is the most significant factor in the onset of hair loss.

Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, his grandfather Prince Philip and both his uncles, Princes Andrew and Edward, have significant hair loss.

And the gene is prominent on his mother's side, too - Princess Diana's father Earl Spencer was bald.

Dr Shahmalak said: "There is a strong family gene on both sides of Harry's family. He is lucky that it has kicked in a bit later than his brother William - but the signs are not good for Harry.”

Dr Shahmalak runs the  Crown Clinicin Manchester - Britain's leading hair transplant centre.

He said there were simple measures Harry could take to combat his hair loss.

"I would strongly urge him to act now," said Dr Shahmalak.

“The best remedy at this stage is for Harry to start taking Propecia which won't replace the hair which he has already lost but will help to stop him losing any more. If William had started using the drug at the same age he could have significantly slowed down his hair loss.

"The other solution would be for Harry to use Minoxidil, the only other clinically proven hair loss medication available.

"You can buy a mousse which you apply to the thinning areas of the scalp.

"But the only long-term solution is a hair transplant - where hair is moved from the back or sides of the scalp to bald areas such as the crown."

Dr Shahmalak said the stigma around seeking treatment for hair loss had largely gone, thanks to high profile hair transplant patients like Wayne Rooney and James Nesbitt.

He said: "Wayne Rooney was brave to go public about his hair transplant and show that he was not embarrassed to seek help for his hair loss.

"The stigma around seeking treatment has been removed. It would send out a great signal to other men if a royal would also seek treatment.

"Their options in covering up their baldness are limited. It would be difficult for Prince William, for instance, to shave his head, which is what a lot of men do to hide their baldness. A royal with a crew cut just doesn’t seem right somehow.”

Prince Harry - recently voted the World's Most Eligible Bachelor in a magazine poll - once joked that Prince William was "already bald aged 12."

Harry also made fun of Prince William's baldness when commenting about artist Nicky Phillips’ portrait of the princes three years ago.

He said said: "I'm a little bit more ginger in there than I am in real life, I think," he said.

"And William has got given more hair."

Prince Harry was pictured showing the first signs of hair loss on a trip to Lesotho in Africa towards the end of February.

He met children at a charity on the trip who were urged to teach the young royal the sign language for "ginger."

Harry quickly replied: "What about the word for bald!"

Dr Shahmalak, who also has clinics in Harley Street, London, and Dublin ,  said hair loss before the age of 30 can shatter a man's confidence, particularly around the opposite sex.

He said: "It can be devastating for a lot of men but I am not sure that will be a problem for Harry.

"He has is a very charismatic young man and has always attracted the attention of beautiful women."

Harry is currently dating the socialite Cressida Bonas, 24, after they were introduced  by her friend Princess Eugenie at a music festival last May. 

The  Crown Clinicsaw a 25% surge in bookings after Wayne Rooney's transplant.

Dr Shahmalak has performed hair transplants on a number of celebrities including Dr Christian Jessen from Embarrassing Bodies and Martin Roberts, star of BBC1's Homes Under The Hammer.