Prince Harry is said to have the "perfect" facial hair. Photo / Getty Images

He may be happily loved up with girlfriend Meghan Markle, but that hasn't stopped the women of Britain from lusting after Prince Harry.

The flame-haired royal has been voted as having the sexiest beard in the world according to a new survey.

The 33-year-old prince, who sent fans wild after debuting his facial fuzz in 2015, beat La La Land star Ryan Gosling, 36, to the to spot - with American Sniper actor Bradley Cooper, 42, coming in third place, reports the Daily Mail.

And in a sign of a changing of the guard in the world of football, England striker Harry Kane, 24, came fourth - ahead of previous winner and former captain David Beckham, 42, who came in fifth.

Meanwhile Pitt, 53, was reckoned to have the least sexy facial hair, followed by Joaquin Phoenix, 42, Gary Lineker, 56, Justin Timberlake, 36, and Jim Carrey, 55.

• Scroll down to vote

The results came in a new survey of 1,000 people by hair transplant centre Crown Clinic in Manchester.

Growing numbers of men are augmenting their facial hair with either beard or sideburn transplants, the clinic reports.

Men and women were split over whether the stars looked better with their facial hair.

The majority of men (62 per cent) believe that the stars were more attractive with beards.

Top 10 celebrity beards

1. Prince Harry
2. Ryan Gosling
3. Bradley Cooper
4. Harry Kane
5. David Beckham
6. Idris Elba
7. George Clooney
8. Ben Affleck
9. Hugh Jackman
10. Jake Gyllenhaal

But fewer women were fans of the facial fuzz, with just 38 per cent preferring beards and 62 per cent saying they prefer their men to be clean-shaven.

Almost half of men (45 per cent) said they were unable to grow a full beard like Prince Harry.

Bookings for facial transplants jumped by 25 per cent due to the popularity of Olympic cycling hero Bradley Wiggins, famous for his mutton chop sideburns.

Crown Clinic surgeon Asim Shahmalak whose clients have included Calum Best and Gogglebox star Chris Steed said: "Prince Harry is a trendsetter for lots of men around the world and the reaction to his beard has been universally positive.

"While he looks great with his ginger fuzz, the sad fact is almost half the men in the UK cannot grow a full beard like Harry.

"There are gaps in their beard or sideburns and the end result is patchy and unattractive.

We can fill in those gaps to make sure any man can get a full beard like Harry."

Worst five celebrity beards

.1 Brad Pitt
2. Joaquin Phoenix
3. Gary Lineker
4. Justin Timberlake
5. Jim Carrey