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Amply bearded king in utility vehicle he owns? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hirsute

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'amply bearded' is the definition.
'hirsute' can be an answer for 'bearded' (I've seen this in another clue). I'm not certain of the 'amply' bit.

'king in utility vehicle he owns?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'king' could be 'r' (abbreviation of Latin rex) and 'r' is located in the answer.
'vehicle' could be 'ute' (Australian abbreviation for utility vehicle) and 'ute' is found within the answer.
'he' could be 'hi' and 'hi' is found in the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hirsute that I've seen before include "covered in hairs" , "Unshaven" , "Bearded" , "Furry" , "Hairy and shaggy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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