CULTURE: William Proposed... Because He's Balding?

Why did Prince William finally propose to girlfriend Kate Middleton? To hear the Brit tabloids tell it, there’s only one explanation: baldness. Yep, many speculate, 28-year-old Wills felt his attractiveness receding and figured he’d better lock in his longtime galpal. Lending a sort of credibility to this theory is the New York Times, reporting on the phenomenon, and noting that increasing numbers of men are starting to worry about their “sell-by date.”

“The clock ticks for both men and women,” says the director of the National Marriage Project. Why? A sociologist notes that in the 1930s, women were more concerned with a man’s earning capacity—but now that more women can provide for their families, they’re more likely to focus on the physical. Some balding men are so anxious they’re likely to settle, says the host of a talk show about baldness: “Guys believe they don’t have much time left as they continue to lose their hair. They kind of grab the person closest to them who they find relatively attractive at the time.”