Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	ITV1
logofile	ITV1.svg
logosize	250px
lanuched	22 September 1955 (as ITV)
airdate	11 August 2001
picture format	576i (SDTV);1080i (HDTV)
share	ITV Network:14.8%0.6% (+1)0.8% (HD)
share as of	June 2011
share source	BARB
network	ITV
owner	ITV plc
slogan	"The Brighter Side"
country	United Kingdom
language	English
broadcast area	England, Southern Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands
headquarters	London, England
former names	ITV
replaced names	Anglia, Border, Carlton, Central, Channel, Granada, HTV, LWT, Meridian, Tyne Tees, Westcountry and Yorkshire(on 28 October 2002)
sister names	ITV1 HDITV2/ITV2 HDITV3/ITV3 HDITV4/ITV4 HDCITV
timeshift names	ITV1+1
web
terr serv 1	Analogue
terr chan 1	Channel 3(Phased out nationwide by 2012)
terr serv 2	Freeview
terr chan 2	Channel 3Channel 33 (+1)Channel 51 (HD)
sat serv 1	Freesat
sat chan 1	Channel 103Channel 112 (+1)Channel 119 (HD)Channel 997 (AD) (ITV1 London)
sat serv 2	Sky
sat chan 2	Channel 103 Channel 114 (+1)Channel 178 (HD)Channel 993 (AD) (ITV1 London)
sat serv 3	Astra 2D|
sat chan 3	10758V 22000 5/6 10832H 22000 5/6 (HD)
cable serv 1	Virgin Media
cable chan 1	Channel 103Channel 114 (+1)Channel 113 (HD)Channel 853 (AD) (ITV1 London)
cable serv 2	Naxoo(Switzerland)
cable chan 2	Channel 217 (ITV1 London)
cable serv 3	UPC Cablecom(Switzerland)
cable chan 3	Channel 159/175 (ITV1 London)
cable serv 4	UPC Poland
cable chan 4	Channel 853 (ITV1 London)
iptv serv 1	Freewire
iptv chan 1	Channel 103
iptv serv 2	TalkTalk TV
iptv chan 2	Channel 3Channels 971-985 (ITV1 regions)
online serv 1	itv.com
online chan 1	Watch live(ITV1 London, UK only)
online serv 2	TVCatchup
online chan 2	Watch live(ITV1 London, UK only)Watch live(ITV1+1, UK only)
online serv 3	ITV Player
online chan 3	Catch up }}

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in England, Wales, southern Scotland (Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders), the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their eleven regional companies. ITV1 replaced these regional brands completely in October 2002, before Granada and Carlton merged to form ITV plc in 2004. The brand is also used by the non-ITV plc owned Channel Television. The ITV1 brand, however, should be distinguished from the UK-wide ITV, of which ITV1 forms a large proportion.

ITV1 and its predecessor channels (collectively known simply as ITV from 1955 to 2001, and always treated as a single channel for ratings purposes), have contended with BBC One for the status of the UK's most watched television channel since the 1950s. However in line with other terrestrial channels, ITV1's audience share has fallen in the era of multi-channel television.

History

Following the creation of the Television Act in 1954, the establishment of a commercial television service in the UK began.

The "Independent Television" service was made up of regions, with each region run by different companies. The three largest regions (London, the Midlands and the North of England) were subdivided into weekday and weekend services, with a different company running each. ITV existed in a region-heavy form from its inception to the 2000s, although the switch was gradual.

ITV1 became the generic on-screen brand name used by the twelve franchises of the ITV Network in the United Kingdom. The brand was introduced in 2001 by Carlton- and Granada-owned franchises, initially used alongside the local regional name. However, it became the sole on-air identity in 2002 when the two companies decided to create a single unified playout of the channel, with regional references only used prior to regional programming. Carlton and Granada went on to merge in 2004, creating ITV plc which now owns eleven of the fifteen regional ITV licences.

The ITV1 name was only used in England, Wales, Southern Scotland and Isle of Man until Channel Television adopted the name in January 2006, bringing it to the Channel Islands. It should be noted, however, that as national continuity is often used on Channel Television, ITV1 national branding had been seen on the station for several years previously.

The franchises that use the ITV1 brand are Anglia Television, Border Television, Carlton Television, Central Independent Television, Channel Television, Granada Television, HTV, London Weekend Television, Meridian Broadcasting, Tyne Tees Television, Westcountry Television and Yorkshire Television.

HTV is the only exception using the name ''ITV1 Wales'' at all times for the Welsh part of its broadcast area, as it has a higher regional commitment, although recently the ''ITV1 Wales'' name is only used on Breakbumpers and regionally advertised programmes. Non ITV plc-owned franchises on the network generally do not refer to the ITV1 name.

The companies which represent ITV1 produce programming under the ITV Studios and Granada brands.

Corporate unification

ITV1 was formed by the unification of eleven of the ITV licences. The Broadcasting Act 1990 changed many of the rules regulating the ITV Network, which most notably relaxed franchise ownership and hours of production. However as far back as 1974, Yorkshire Television and its North East neighbour, Tyne Tees Television, formally created Trident Television, a merged entity of the two companies. By 1981 due to regulation, the company was forced to de-merge, however they resumed their alliance in 1993 as Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television, which therefore owned the two franchises and integrated the two company's assets more than its predecessor.

However, the intense race to own more of the ITV Network began in 1994 when Carlton Communications, the owner of London weekday broadcaster Carlton Television, took control of Central Independent Television in the Midlands. Literally days afterwards, Granada plc, owner of Granada Television of the North West purchased London Weekend Television. Meridian's owner, Mills and Allen International, then went on to purchase Anglia Television in the same year, before merging to become United News and Media (UNM) in 1995. UNM then went on to purchase Wales and West broadcaster, HTV in 1996, while Carlton purchased Westcountry Television later that year. Granada then agreed a deal to take over Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television in 1997, giving the broadcaster access to both Yorkshire and North East franchises.

There was no movement in the take-over of franchises until 2000 when Border Television and all of its radio assets were sold to Capital Radio Group, who consequently sold the television broadcasting arm to Granada Media Group. Granada then went on to purchase all of UNM's television interests (including its ITV franchises), which brought Meridian, Anglia and HTV into its power, however due to regulation Granada was forced to sell HTV to Carlton. By this time, all of the franchises in England and Wales were owned by either Carlton or Granada.

In 2004, Granada plc officially merged with Carlton Communications, creating ITV plc, although it was a takeover by Granada in effect.

Regional variations

ITV1 consists of eleven franchises in England and Wales which broadcast regional news and other local programming to its area. Many franchise areas in England previously had sub-regions providing separate regional news bulletins. For example, the Anglia region was divided into West and East. This arrangement came to an end in February 2009 when ITV implemented plans to save the company £40m a year on the amount it spent making local news.

Since 27 October 2002, all ITV plc-owned franchises, regional programming is either preceded or plugged by an oral regional announcement, in the format ITV1 ''regional brand'', e.g. ITV1 Granada. In English regions, up until 13 November 2006, regional names were also superimposed (post-production) on these idents below the ITV1 logo, however this practice has since ceased. ITV Wales remains unaffected and still continues to use dual-branding across all of its on-screen presentation. Despite the lack of regional names on screen, the regional name is usually spoken by the announcer prior to local programmes. After ITV's unification in 2002, the two London franchises, Carlton Television and London Weekend Television were merged into a single entity, ITV London, while the Wales and West franchise lost its official identity and instead was substituted with ITV Wales and ITV West on-air, with no reference linking the two together.

Although Channel Television have adopted the ITV1 brand on-air, announcements are still referred to "Channel Television". Channel Television is the only franchise not owned by ITV plc to use the brand.

Areas with full ITV1 branding and continuity:

!Broadcast area	!Pre-ITV1 branding	!Post-ITV1 branding
English-Scottish border/Isle of Man	Border Television>Border
North East England	Tyne Tees Television>Tyne Tees
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire	Yorkshire Television>Yorkshire
North West England	Granada Television>Granada
Wales	HTV>HTV Wales
West of England	HTV>HTV West
The Midlands	Central Independent Television>Central
East of England	Anglia Television>Anglia
London (weekdays)	Carlton Television>Carlton
London (weekends)	London Weekend Television>LWT
South and South East England	Meridian Broadcasting>Meridian
South West England	Westcountry Television>Westcountry

In the English regions, the channel has been known since 2006 as ITV1 at all times. Regional references no longer appear before any programming at all in these areas.

The ''ITV1 Wales'' name is not used overnight.

Areas without full ITV1 branding and continuity:

!Broadcast area	!Present Branding	!Former Branding
Channel Islands	ITV1 (Channel Television)
Northern Ireland	UTV
Northern Scotland	STV (TV network)>STV (North)
Central Scotland	STV (TV network)>STV (Central)

Channel Television use the ITV1 logo on all idents, promotions, ECPs, etc.

**UTV uses the ITV1 branding between the end of the teleshopping strand at around 2.30am until the end of ITV Breakfast. UTV Branding is used from 9:25am–2:30am daily.

Proposed regional changes

In June 2007, ITV plc executive chairman Michael Grade hinted at a possible re-structure of the ITV regional layout, stating the existence of smaller regional services "no longer makes sense" relative to the regional audience they serve.

The plan was confirmed in September 2007, reducing the number of regional news programmes from 17 to just 9, saving around £35 to £40 million each year, and affecting every ITV plc regional company with the exception of ITV London, ITV Wales and ITV Granada. These changes were implemented in early 2009. All sub-regional news programmes ceased, ITV Border's ''Lookaround'' programme was merged with ITV Tyne Tees' ''North East Tonight'' programme, ITV Westcountry's ''Westcountry Live'' merged with ITV West's ''The West Tonight'' programme, and ITV Meridian's ''Meridian Tonight'' south and south east editions merged with ITV Thames Valley's ''Thames Valley Tonight''.

Pre-recorded sub-regional opt-outs are included in most of these new regions - a practice that has been used by Westcountry since their launch in 1993. Future job losses are currently unknown.

Branding

From the founding of the ITV Network in 1955, it was known nationally as Independent Television (later ITV) and locally by the regional branding of the local ITV franchise operator.

In 1989, the ITV Association set out a generic presentation package with a new "ITV" logo, which included idents, promotions and general on and off air design, and an edit of this package was designed for each franchise holder. The dual branded idents included a large "ITV" logo, in which the "V" contained part of the franchise's logo, and written below the logo in a grey capitalised font was the name of the regional broadcaster. However, only half of the regional broadcasters opted to use the package, which had completely failed by 1997.

In 1999, another second common presentation package (once again using dual-branding with the ITV name) was launched, under the theme, "TV From The Heart". Like the 1989 attempt, a version was created for every franchise holder, however it was only taken by nine of the fifteen ITV broadcasters, two of which resorted to other designs, being London Weekend Television, which actually used the look for a year but then adopted a more original look (claiming it "wasn't exciting enough"), and HTV which adopted Carlton's identity when it was purchased by the company in 2001. Carlton, owner of three ITV licences at the time, did not adopt the generic look and instead used another package designed by Lambie-Nairn, which again followed the "TV from the Heart" theme, however with more emphasis on the Carlton corporate identity.

By 2001, all eleven franchises of England and Wales were owned by either Granada plc or Carlton Communications, and a new common name, ITV1, was launched on 11 August 2001 to coincide with digital channel ITV2. The existing "Hearts" idents were simply re-edited.

However from 28 October 2002, in England, the Scottish/English Border and Isle of Man (where all the franchises are owned by ITV plc), the station dropped regional branding and identification before most programming and adopted a unified national branding of ITV1. In Wales, although the HTV name has been dropped, some regional identification remains in the form of ITV1 Wales. At this time all regional continuity announcers were replaced with a single team of six national continuity announcers. Since the re-brand of 2006, that team has been reduced to just four.

ITV Day

In 2005, ITV plc introduced a new channel branding called ITV Day , used to identify ITV1 between 9.25am and 5.00pm. ITV Day was treated as a separate entity to ITV1 and featured its own presentation set focusing using the colours of red, orange and yellow and featured scenes of typical "daytime" activities. Promotions were used in a similar format to ITV1, and all daytime programmes advertised within ITV1 hours were branded with the ITV Day logo. A similar "UTV Day" branding was adopted in Northern Ireland.

ITV1 (2006–present)

In January 2006, the channel adopted a new on-air look to coincide with the launch of ITV4, designed mainly to improve cross-channel promotion across ITV's multichannel presence. The new logo brought ITV1, ITV2 and ITV3 in line with ITV4's, and had been observed on various billboard ads in the UK when the new identity was first used on-screen on 16 January 2006. The overhaul also put an end to the former ITV Day brand, which was axed in favour of a full-time ITV1 identity.

On 13 November 2006, a new set of idents replaced the previous set which debuted in January, the theme being "alive with colour". The initial set consisted of 'Beach', 'Bike', 'Lake' and 'Market'; 'Basketball' and 'Pavement Art' were added later in the year. They were created by Blink Productions for ITV, unlike the old idents which were masterminded by Red Bee Media. The logo remained the same in essence; only the 'itv' lettering was inverted from its previous white state to black, to allow it to stand out against the yellow more.

On 3 September 2007, four more idents where added to the set, featuring 'Bubbles', 'Fountains', 'Garden' and 'Buildings', and as of 19 September 2009, all now have 'the brighter side' on their breakbumpers. On 9 April 2010, four more idents where added to the set, 'Lanterns', 'Sunflowers', 'Snakes and Ladders' and 'Dodgems', featuring an updated ITV1 logo as seen on ITV1 HD.

In September 2009 ITV plc announced that ITV1 +1, a one hour time-shift version of ITV1, would launch in October 2009 from 10.25 am to 7 am daily. The hours covered by GMTV from 7 am to 10.25 am will not originally have been included in the relay. The channel launched on 11 January 2011.

Notable programming

Daytime programming

''Daybreak''

''Lorraine''

''The Jeremy Kyle Show''

''This Morning''

''Loose Women''

''ITV News at 1:30''

''60 Minute Makeover''

''House Gift''

''Dickinson's Real Deal''

''The Alan Titchmarsh Show''

''Midsomer Murders''

''The Chase''

''Britain's Best Dish''

''Dinner Date''

''ITV Regional News''

Primetime programming

''ITV News at 6:30

''Emmerdale''

''Coronation Street''

''Tonight''

''Countrywise''

''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''

''Paul O'Grady Live''

''Documentaries''

''Drama Premieres''

''ITV News at Ten''

Weekend programming

''You've Been Framed''

''Harry Hill's TV Burp''

''Sing If You Can''

''Odd One In''

''Britain's Got Talent''

''Penn & Teller: Fool Us''

''Piers Morgan's Life Stories''

''The X Factor''

''The Cube''

''The Royal''

''Dancing on Ice''

''Wild at Heart''

''Popstar to Operastar''

''Drama Premieres''

''ITV News''

Nighttime programming

''Movies''

''Primetime repeats''

''The Zone''

''The Jeremy Kyle Show''

''Crossing Jordan''

''In Plain Sight''

''Swingtown''

''ITV Nightscreen''

''ITV News at 5:30''

Spin-off channels

ITV1 HD

A high-definition simulcast of ITV1, ITV1 HD, debuted on 2 December 2009 with the technical launch of the Freeview HD service. The channel has its roots in ITV HD, which began as a trial service in 2006 on a low-power digital terrestrial (DVB-T) channel from London's Crystal Palace transmitting station, and on Telewest TV Drive cable service. The channel was revived on 7 June 2008 in time for the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament, this time exclusively available on the Freesat digital satellite service With its debut on Freeview HD, the channel was re-branded as ITV1 HD in December 2009.

ITV1 +1

On 1 September 2009 it was announced that ITV1 would get a one-hour timeshift on digital satellite and Virgin Media, on 1 October 2009, subject to the Competition Commission's ruling on the contract rights renewal system. However on 18 September 2009, it was announced that ITV1 +1 has been postponed until further notice. Prior to this announcement, EPG data for the service had appeared on satellite.

The Competition Commission delayed the final decision in its review of ITV's Contract Rights Renewal undertakings to the end of February 2010 because it had to consider the "significant" submissions it has received.

On 19 January 2010, the Competition Commission delivered its provisional findings, ruling that audiences for both ITV1 +1 and ITV1 HD will be accredited to ITV1's commercial impacts. The Competition Commission recognised that the broadcaster had been deterred from launching new ways of delivering ITV1, because of the way media buying is currently conducted under the established contracts rights renewal (CRR) mechanism. However, the regulator rejected ITV's proposed removal of large elements of the "outdated" CRR Undertakings while maintaining an obligation on ITV to offer ITV1 airtime on "fair and reasonable" terms. The Competition Commission announced that such a change would leave the process too open to interpretation and that they were "not likely to be either practicable or effective in addressing the adverse effects of the merger".

On 12 May 2010, the Competition Commission stood by its provisional decision to retain the contracts rights renewal system – but it added that the mechanism should be dropped at some point and that the entire UK TV ad sales market needs a review. "ITV1 remains a 'must have' for certain advertisers and certain types of campaign," said the chairman of the CRR review group at the Competition Commission, Diana Guy. "Despite all the changes in this market, no other channel or medium can come close to matching the size of audience that ITV regularly provides. So the essential reason for the CRR undertakings remains: to protect advertisers and other commercial broadcasters." The ITV chief executive, Adam Crozier, said that the ruling was "out of touch and damaging for the interests of creative Britain". He added that it was "unlikely" that ITV would look to seek a judicial review but that ITV would redouble its lobbying campaign for a liberalisation of regulation and "urgent modernisation" of competition law. But the commission said there was "virtual unanimity" among advertisers, media agencies, commercial broadcasters and trade bodies that CRR should be kept "in some form". The commission confirmed that the CRR remedy should be broadened to include ITV+1 and ITV's high definition channels.

On 27 July 2010, the House Of Lords confirmed plans to launch an inquiry into the television advertising market, which will "pay particular attention" to the CRR mechanism. The Lords committee will investigate the declining revenues that commercial broadcasters gain from the sale of advertising across their networks. The members will also consider possible changes to current ad market regulation, including the CRR system, product placement rules and the scheduling and sale of advertising. The committee wants to hear evidence on the current levels of regulation and what impact a relaxation of the rules could have on the commercial broadcasting sector. Interested parties must submit written evidence to the inquiry by September 24, with oral evidence to be heard in October. A written report is expected to follow in late 2010 or early 2011.

On 3 August 2010, ITV plc announced the launch of ITV1 +1 would take place in Q1 2011, with BARB later reporting that the channel would be launched on 11 January 2011. In December 2010 full testing of all six regions began on satellite.

ITV1 +1 was launched on 11 January 2011 on Freesat channel 112, Freeview channel 33, Sky channel 131 and Virgin Media channel 114. ITV1 broadcasts 22 different editions of digital satellite, but the timeshifted service only transmits six macro regional variants:

London

South East Macro (encompassing Meridian and Anglia)

West Macro (encompassing Wales & West and Westcountry)

Central

Yorkshire/Tyne Tees Macro (encompassing Yorkshire and Tyne Tees)

Granada/Border Macro (encompassing Granada and Border)

See also

British Touring Car Championship

List of ITV journalists and newsreaders

References

External links

Category:ITV Category:Television channels in the United Kingdom

cy:ITV1 es:ITV1 fr:ITV1 gl:ITV1 id:ITV1 nl:ITV1 ja:ITV1 pl:ITV1

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Bradley Walsh
birth date	June 04, 1960
birth place	Watford, Hertfordshire, England
occupation	Actor, comedian, television presenter, footballer
years active	1994–present
spouse	Donna (1997–present) }}

Bradley Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English light entertainer, television actor, comedian and former professional footballer.

Background

Bradley Walsh grew up in Leavesden, near Watford. He attended Francis Combe, a comprehensive school in Garston, Hertfordshire.

Football

In the early 1980s, Walsh played professional football for Brentford F.C., although he failed to make the first team. An injury finished his career in the game. He also played for Barnet FC at the same time as Jimmy Greaves.

Television

He first came to prominence on television in 1994 as a presenter of the ''National Lottery'' before going on to host the British version of ''Wheel of Fortune'' in 1997. In 1995, Walsh presented another ITV1 game show, ''Midas Touch''. before turning his attention to acting.

Walsh was in the cast of short lived British soap opera ''Night and Day'' in 2002. He appeared as Burglar Bill at the Children's Party at the Palace in 2006.

Walsh took part in Northern Rock's All Star Golf Tournament on ITV, which his team, Team Europe, won. Walsh said that he has been playing golf since he was 20.

On 9 September 2006, he hosted the 50 Greatest Stars Polls. He appeared in the three part TV drama Torn. He hosted No. 1 Soap Fan on 29 December 2007 for ITV. In August 2008, Walsh appeared in the reality talent show television series, ''Maestro'' on BBC Two.

Walsh is also making a series for ITV called 'My Little Soldier', in which the young contestants are required to do "grown-up things" such as travelling on their own by train.

Walsh was confirmed as the host of a new ITV1 game show called Spin Star that aired from 10 November - 19 December 2008.

Walsh joined the Doctor Who universe by playing three roles in the 2008 Sarah Jane Adventures story The Day of the Clown. Including a sinister clown called Odd Bob, and a mysterious European sounding ringmaster named Elijah Spellman, and the infamous Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Along with his son Barney, he is also featured in one edition of a factual TV series for Five, Dangerous Adventures for Boys, based on the best-selling book written by Conn and Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys.

In June 2009, Bradley hosted a game show for ITV called The Chase. The first series had 10 shows and a second series ended on Friday 23 July 2010. A third series of The Chase started transmitting on ITV1 Monday 3 January 2011.

He can currently be seen as the host on the ITV Saturday night gameshow Odd One In with Peter Andre and Jason Manford. The show has 7 episodes which started 18th June 2011.

Coronation Street

On 31 May 2004, he began playing the role of factory boss, Danny Baldwin, in the Granada TV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', for which he is now best known. Danny was originally going to be called Vic, but Walsh asked for the name to be changed to Danny after his late father. People had previously called him Young Danny, so he thought it would not be so bad when people called him by his character's name.

He won the 'Best Dramatic Performance' award at the British Soap Awards in May 2006 for his role. He was written out of the serial at his own request at the end of that year, but he was not killed off.

Law & Order UK

Bradley has filmed the fifth series to be aired July 2011 on ITV1 playing DS Ronnie Brooks in ''Law & Order: UK''.

Film

Walsh starred in the 2001 film ''Mike Bassett: England Manager''. He also appeared in the TV series, ''Lock, Stock...''.

Books

Walsh has co-authored a series of personalised football story books in the series ''My Dream Cup Final with...''.

Personal life

Walsh married choreographer Donna in 1997, and they have one son, Barney (born 1998). The family live in Epping, Essex. He has a daughter Hayley (born 1982), from a previous relationship.

Walsh is currently in training as he will be cycling from the North of France to Portugal to raise money for Sane. He appeared on 'That's What I Call Television' with Fern Britton and declared that he is an Arsenal FC fan. On 22 October 2010, Walsh was in attendance at the funeral of fellow actor and comedian Sir Norman Wisdom

As of July 2010, Walsh finished a tour of stand-up/singing gigs in UK theatres.

Walsh appeared in Christmas pantomime (Peter Pan) at Cliffs Pavilion, Southend from 11 Dec 2010 - 9 Jan 2011.

Filmography

Films

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
	''Mike Bassett: England Manager''	Dave Dodds
''The Glow''	George - The Butler	Short film

TV

! Year	! Show	! Role	! Notes
	''Lock, Stock...''	Larry Harmless	1 episode: ''...And a Fistful of Jack & Jills''
''The Thing About Vince''	Perry	1 episode: ''1.3''
	''Hotel''	Henry
		Eddie 'Woody' Dexter	Series regular
	''Reps''	Terry Arnold
	Phil Seagrove	1 episode: ''Daddy's Little Girl''
		Mr Savage	1 episode: ''Bend It Like Basil''
	Ken Hill	1 episode: ''Big City, Small World''
	''Coronation Street''	Danny Baldwin	Series regular
		Steven Taylor	3 part series
	Mr Liggers
	''The Sarah Jane Adventures''		2 episodes: ''The Day of the Clown (Parts 1 & 2)''
	''The Chase (game show)''	Himself	Host
	''Law & Order: UK''	DS Ronnie Brooks	Series regular

References

External links

Bradley Walsh Official Site

Bradley Walsh Management - Debi Allen

Category:1960 births Category:English television actors Category:English soap opera actors Category:English comedians Category:English television presenters Category:Brentford F.C. players Category:Living people Category:People from Epping Category:People from Watford

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Prince William
title	Duke of Cambridge (more)
imagw	245
spouse	Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
house	House of Windsor
full name	William Arthur Philip Louis The middle name Louis is pronounced .|groupfn |namesur}}

| titles = ''HRH'' Prince William, Duke of Cambridge | father = Charles, Prince of Wales | mother = Diana, Princess of Wales | birth_date = June 21, 1982 | birth_place = St Mary's Hospital, London | date of christening = 4 August 1982 | place of christening = Buckingham Palace, London | religion = Anglican (Church of England) }} Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and third eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is second in the line of succession, behind his father, to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Consequently, he is also second in line, again behind his father, to the position of Head of the Commonwealth (figurehead of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations) and, in England only, Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

He was educated at four schools in the United Kingdom and obtained a degree from the University of St Andrews. He spent parts of a gap year in Chile, Belize, and countries in Africa, most notably Kenya where he has lived and holidayed several times. Besides his engagement to Kate whilst living in Kenya, Prince William has also taken Kiswahili studies at universities in Kenya and Tanzania. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry—serving with his brother Prince Harry—and, two years later, earned his wings by completing pilot training at Royal Air Force College Cranwell. In 2009, the Prince transferred to the Royal Air Force, was promoted to flight lieutenant and underwent helicopter flying training in order to become a full time pilot with the Search and Rescue Force. In Autumn 2010, he completed his general and special-to-type helicopter training and he is now at RAF Valley on No. 22 Squadron performing co-pilot duties on board a Sea King search and rescue helicopter. Prince William married his longtime girlfriend, the then Catherine Middleton, on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. Hours prior to his wedding, Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Early life

Prince William was born at St Mary's Hospital, London on 21 June 1982. He was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4 August 1982 (the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. William's godparents are: former King Constantine II of Greece (his paternal cousin); Princess Alexandra, The Hon Mrs Angus Ogilvy (his paternal cousin); the Duchess of Westminster; the Lady Susan Hussey; Lord Romsey (his paternal cousin); and Sir Laurens van der Post.

As a male-line grandchild of the sovereign and son of the Prince of Wales, William was styled 'His Royal Highness' 'Prince William of Wales', though he was affectionately called 'Wombat' by his parents or 'Wills' (the latter a name coined by the press by which he is still known by the general public). It was reported that, at age seven, the Prince said to his mother that he desired to be a police officer when he was older, so that he might be able to protect her; a statement to which his brother responded: "Oh, no you can't. You've got to be King." William's first public appearance was on 1 March 1991 (Saint David's Day), during an official visit of his parents to Cardiff, Wales. After arriving by aeroplane, the Prince was taken to Llandaff Cathedral, where he signed the visitors' book, thereby demonstrating that he was left-handed. On 3 June 1991, William was admitted to Royal Berkshire Hospital after having been hit on the side of the forehead by a fellow student wielding a golf club. The Prince did not lose consciousness, but did suffer a depressed fracture of the skull and was operated on at the Great Ormond Street Hospital, resulting in a permanent scar.

William's mother desired her two sons should have wider experiences than are usual for royal children. Diana took William and his brother to Walt Disney World and McDonald's; in addition they visited AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless. She also bought them things typical teenagers used, such as video games. Diana, Princess of Wales, who was by then divorced from the Prince of Wales, died in a car accident in 1997. William, along with his brother and father, was staying at Balmoral Castle at the time, and the Prince of Wales waited until early the following morning to tell his sons about their mother's death. At his mother's funeral, William accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle in walking behind the funeral cortège from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

Education

William was educated at independent schools, starting at Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School and was privately tutored during summers by Rory Stewart. At Ludgrove he also participated in football—along with swimming, basketball, clay pigeon shooting, and cross-country running. William sat for the entrance exam to Eton College and was admitted. There he studied geography, biology and history of art at A-Level, obtaining an A in geography, a C in biology and a B in history of art. At Eton he continued to play football, captaining his house team, and took up water polo. The decision to place William in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun (William's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended); it did, however, make the Prince follow in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother had attended Eton. It was also agreed between the Royal Family and the tabloid press that William would be allowed to study free of paparazzi intrusion in exchange for regular updates of the Prince's life. Then chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, John Wakeham, said of the arrangement: "Prince William is not an institution; nor a soap star; nor a football hero. He is a boy: in the next few years, perhaps the most important and sometimes painful part of his life, he will grow up and become a man."

After completing his studies at Eton, the Prince took a gap year, during which he took part in British Army training exercises in Belize, and, for ten weeks, taught children in the town of Tortel, in southern Chile, as part of the Raleigh International programme. It was during his time in the latter location that he lived with other young teachers, sharing in the common household chores, including cleaning the toilet, and also volunteered as the guest radio jockey for the local radio station.

By 2001, William was back in the United Kingdom and had enrolled, under the name William Wales, at the University of St Andrews. News of this caused a temporary increase in the number of applications to St Andrews, mostly from young women who wanted an opportunity to meet the Prince. The extra attention did not deter him, though, and he embarked on a degree course in art history, later changing his main subject to geography, and going on to earn a Scottish Master of Arts degree with upper second class honours in geography—the best degree of any heir to the throne of Britain and the Commonwealth realms. While at university, Prince William also represented the Scottish national universities water polo team at the Celtic Nations tournament in 2004. He was known as “Steve” by other students to avoid any journalists overhearing and realising his identity.

Royal duties and career

William began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas royal tour was with his parents to Australia and New Zealand in 1983, a decision made by the Princess of Wales that was considered to be unconventional; not only was William so young, but both the first and second in line for the throne would be travelling together. However, he accompanied either both parents or his father on subsequent tours, and, upon graduation from university, began to undertake duties of his own, as well as obtaining experience in the private workforce when he worked with land management at Chatsworth House and interned at HSBC.

Military career

Having decided to follow a military career, in October 2005 William attended the four day Regular Commissions Board at Westbury in Wiltshire where he underwent selection to judge his suitability to become an Army officer. Having passed selection, William went up to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in January 2006. Successfully completing the course, William graduated from Sandhurst on 15 December 2006, the graduation parade being attended by the Queen and the Prince of Wales, along with other members of the Royal Family, and William officially received his commission as a lieutenant at midnight. With his rank obtained, the Prince, under the name of William Wales, followed his younger brother into the Blues and Royals as a troop commander in an armoured reconnaissance unit, after which he spent four months in training for the post at Bovington Camp, Dorset.

Once officially enrolled and commissioned in the Armed Forces, William expressed a desire to participate in active service; in this there was a recent precedent of the service of his great-great-uncle Edward VIII who, as Prince of Wales, served in France during the First World War; his great-grandfather George VI who also served during World War I (with the Navy at the Battle of Jutland and in France with the Air Force); and his paternal grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who served with distinction during World War Two. More recently, his uncle Prince Andrew, Duke of York served in the Falklands war.

Though Major-General Sebastian Roberts, general officer commanding the Household Division, had said William being deployed was possible, the Prince's position as second in line to the throne, and the convention of ministers advising against the person in that position being put into dangerous situations, cast doubts on William's ability to see combat. These doubts increased after Prince Harry's deployment was cancelled in 2007, due to "specific threats". William, instead, went on to training in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, obtaining his commission as a sub-lieutenant in the former and flying officer in the latter (both broadly equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the Army). With this complete, the Prince undertook an attachment with the Air Force, undergoing an intensive four-month training course at RAF Cranwell, which, upon completing the course on 11 April 2008, he was presented with his RAF wings by his father, who had himself received his wings after training at the same college. It was later revealed that it had been during this secondment that Prince William had helped to man a C-17 Globemaster to Afghanistan, during which he assisted in the repatriation of the body of Trooper Robert Pearson. The Prince had been affectionately known by his fellow airmen, and his callsign was designated, as ''Billy the Fish'', a pun on his title.

William then moved to train with the Navy for two months, from June to August 2008, during which time he spent three weeks at the Britannia Royal Naval College, training on units of the surface fleet, and submarines, as well as with the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Marines, before deploying for a further five weeks on HMS ''Iron Duke'' in the Caribbean. It was during this tour that the Prince took part in a secret underwater mission, as well as helping to identify and capture a small vessel that had been transporting an approximate £40 million worth of cocaine, and taking part in other raids.

Owing to William's future role, a long term career in the military was considered out of the question; due to his position, his desire to see active service was always unlikely to be granted. William originally joined the military on a short-service commission lasting three years. However, it was announced in September 2008 that the Prince would be extending his time in the forces, first by taking on another secondment in the autumn of 2008 (including working at the MOD and non-operational flying with the Army Air Corps). Then it was announced that he would transfer from the Army to the RAF in order to train as a full time search and rescue helicopter pilot; this role enables him to take an active role as a member of the armed forces without him being deployed on combat operations.

In January 2009, William transferred his commission to the RAF and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He trained to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF's Search and Rescue Force. In January 2010, he graduated from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, where he had been under the instruction of Squadron Leader Craig Finch. On 26 January 2010 he transferred to the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley on Anglesey to receive training on the Sea King search and rescue helicopter and graduated from this course 17 September 2010.

It was announced on 15 April 2010 that William will remain at RAF Valley for his operational tour, being assigned to No. 22 Squadron and initially performing co-pilot duties. It is expected that William's operational tour will last 30 to 36 months.

William participated in his first rescue mission (as co-pilot of an RAF Sea King Helicopter) and responded on Saturday, 2 October 2010, to an emergency call from the Liverpool Coastguard. The prince, who was excited to finally take part in an active mission, and the other three members of the crew flew from their base at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, to an offshore gas rig in Morecambe Bay, northwest England. William and three other crew members picked up a man who had suffered an apparent heart attack on the rig and airlifted him to a local hospital.

Royal duties

At the age of 21, Prince William was appointed as a Counsellor of State, and began his royal duties by first serving in that capacity when the Queen was abroad to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003, in Nigeria. For his 21st birthday, William also accompanied his father on a royal tour of Wales, where they visited the Anglesey Food Fair and opened a centre for the homeless in Newport. By July 2005, he was on his first solo overseas tour, travelling to New Zealand, on behalf of his grandmother in her role as Queen of New Zealand, to participate in World War II commemorations. For the 30th anniversary of his father's charity, The Prince's Trust, William and his brother were interviewed together for the first time by Ant & Dec. In July 2007, Prince William accompanied his grandmother's cousin The Duke of Kent, who is President of the UK Scout Association, in opening the 21st World Scout Jamboree, celebrating the centennial of the founding of the Scout Movement.

It was said in Tina Brown's 2007 biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, that Prince William had, like his father, expressed a desire to become Governor-General of Australia, though fulfilment of the idea was considered doubtful by then-Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, who said: "We have for a long time embraced the idea that the person who occupies that post should be in every way an Australian citizen."

In 2009, a private office was set up for William by his grandmother, with Sir David Manning being appointed as his adviser. Manning personally accompanied him in January 2010 as he toured Auckland and Wellington on behalf of the Queen; William opened the new building of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and was welcomed as a Māori chief. In March 2011, William visited Christchurch, New Zealand, after the recent earthquake, and there addressed the memorial service at Hagley Park, on behalf of his grandmother. Upon leaving New Zealand, William travelled to Australia, where he made a visit to areas badly affected by flooding in the states of Queensland and Victoria. After twice accompanying his parents to Canada, the Prince, with his wife, is expected to officially tour the country in June and July 2011, attending Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill. ''(See 2011 Royal tour of Canada.)'' Speculation in late 2009 that William would be taking over increasing numbers of the Queen's ceremonial and state duties has been denied by the Palace.

Personal interests

Following his parents' examples, William took interest in various causes from a relatively early age. The late Princess of Wales' work with HIV/AIDS aid and prevention, and the Prince of Wales' work with the natural environment and the inner-city disadvantaged, directed William into those areas. He also showed a desire to focus on the needy in Africa, sometimes working with his brother's charity, Sentebale.

On 23 January 2009, it emerged that Prince William had written the foreword to a book for the first time. The cover of ''Home from War'', the autobiography of a soldier from the Prince's regiment who was seriously wounded in a Taliban ambush, notes his contribution.

Humanitarian and environmental causes

William became aware of HIV/AIDS in the mid 1990s, when his mother began to take her two sons to visit shelters and clinics for those suffering from the disease. In January 2005, Prince William and his brother volunteered at a British Red Cross aid distribution centre to pack emergency supplies for countries that were affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Later, in September, William granted his patronage to Centrepoint, a charity that assists the homeless. During the period when his mother had been patron of Centrepoint, he had accompanied her on visits to its headquarters and projects.

William also worked in the children's unit at The Royal Marsden Hospital for two days of work experience in 2005, as well as helping out in the medical research, catering, and fund raising departments. The same year, he spent two weeks in North Wales with a mountain rescue team. In May 2007, William became patron of both organisations (his mother had also previously been patron of the Royal Marsden Hospital) and he became attracted to Mountain Rescue England and Wales in order to, in his words, "highlight and celebrate the vital, selfless and courageous work of our mountain rescue organisations".

The Prince also became a patron of the Tusk Trust in December 2005, a charity that works towards conserving wildlife and initiating community development, including providing education, across Africa. William became associated with the organisation after he witnessed its work first hand when he was in Africa. Saying "rural African initiatives that foster education, responsibility and participation in the local community light the way to conservation", he carried out his first official duty with the trust in launching a bike ride across the African continent in 2007.

Sports

William plays polo for charitable causes and is a fan of football, supporting Aston Villa F.C. In May 2006, he became President of England's Football Association and vice royal patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in February 2007 (supporting the Queen as patron of the WRU). The same year, the WRU's decision to name a new cup for test matches between Wales and South Africa the Prince William Cup caused controversy, with some believing it would have been more fitting to name the trophy after Ray Gravell.

In 2006, the Prince, along with other Sandhurst officers, took part in running one mile to support the charity Sport Relief, as he had done in 2004 with a team from Clarence House. In May 2007, William became patron of the English Schools' Swimming Association.

William is a noted follower of various packs of foxhounds throughout England and Wales, including the Duke of Beaufort's Hunt, with his father and brother since he was a very young child.

The Prince and his brother are both enthusiastic motorcyclists, with the Prince owning a Ducati 1198 S Corse.

Relationship with Catherine Middleton

During his years at university, William participated in university life; of himself he said: "I'm not a party animal, despite what some people might think." Like his father before him, William's private life became the subject of tabloid speculation, especially around his relationship with Catherine Middleton, who had been one of William's university flatmates and whom William began dating in 2003. Middleton attended the Prince's passing-out parade at Sandhurst, marking the first high-profile event that she attended as William's guest. The relationship between Prince William and Middleton was followed so closely that bookmakers took bets on the possibility of a Royal Wedding and the retail chain Woolworths produced memorabilia bearing the likenesses of the couple. though in June, Middleton attended a party at Lulworth Army Barracks as the guest of Prince William, and in July the Concert for Diana, which had been organised by Princes William and Harry. In August, she accompanied William on holiday in the island of Des Roches in the Seychelles, and in October she joined Prince Charles and Prince Harry for a shooting party at Balmoral. In June 2008, along with the Royal Family, Middleton attended William's investiture into the Order of the Garter.

Middleton was formally introduced to public life by William on 24 February 2011 when she and William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Trearddur, North Wales.

Engagement and wedding

On 16 November 2010 it was announced by Clarence House that William and Middleton were to marry. The engagement ring given to Middleton was the 18 carat sapphire engagement ring of Diana, Princess of Wales; two studs were fastened inside the ring to make it fit Catherine's thinner ringfinger. Clarence House, the official residence of Charles and his sons William and Harry, announced on the same day that the couple became engaged in Kenya in October, as Prince William confirmed in a widely circulated television interview beamed from London.

The wedding took place on 29 April 2011 in Westminster Abbey, London. The day was made a bank holiday in the UK. Estimates of the global audience for the wedding range from 300 million to two billion people, whilst 24.5 million watched the event live in the United Kingdom.

A few hours before the wedding, it was announced that William had become Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, as is customary for princes on the occasion of their weddings.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

name	The Duke of Cambridge
dipstyle	His Royal Highness
offstyle	Your Royal Highness
altstyle	Sir }}

21 June 1982 29 April 2011: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince William of Wales 29 April 2011 present: ''His Royal Highness'' The Duke of Cambridge

The Prince's style and title in full is ''His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus, Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter''. As a British prince, William does not use a surname for everyday purposes. For formal and ceremonial purposes, the children of Princes of Wales, like the children of Royal Dukes, use the title of Prince or Princess before their Christian name and their father's territorial designation after it. So Prince William was "Prince William of Wales". Such area-based surnames are discarded by women when they marry and by men if they are given a peerage of their own, such as when Prince William was given his dukedom.

For the male-line grandchildren of Elizabeth II, however, there is currently some uncertainty over the correct form of family surname to use, or whether there even is a surname. The Queen has stipulated all her male-line descendants ''who do not bear the titular dignity of prince'' shall use Mountbatten-Windsor as their family surname (although Letters Patent exist stipulating the name Windsor, but with the same caveat). According to their flight suits as seen in television interviews (before Prince William's creation as Duke of Cambridge), Princes William and Harry use Wales as their surname for military purposes. On the morning of his wedding, the Queen conferred the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus upon William. Once he becomes heir to the throne, it is expected that he will be invested as Prince of Wales, although this is not automatic. In addition, on his father's accession to the throne, William, as the eldest son of the sovereign, will become Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. If William succeeds to the throne and uses his first given name as his regnal name, he would be known as ''William V''.

William succeeded Lord Attenborough in 2010 as the fifth President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Military ranks

January 2006 16 December 2006: Officer Cadet 16 December 2006 16 December 2006: Cornet (Second Lieutenant), The Blues and Royals (short service commission) 16 December 2006 1 January 2009 : Lieutenant, The Blues and Royals 1 January 2008 1 January 2009: Flying Officer, Royal Air Force 1 January 2008 1 January 2009 : Sub-Lieutenant, Royal Navy 1 January 2009 present: Lieutenant, Royal Navy 1 January 2009 present: Captain, The Blues and Royals (and transferred to a full regular commission) 1 January 2009 present: Flight Lieutenant, Royal Air Force

Honours

;Appointments 23 April 2008 present: Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG) 6 July 2009 present: Member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple 6 July 2009 present: Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple 23 June 2010 present: Royal Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)

Prince William, upon his appointment to the order, became the 1,000th member of the register of the Order of the Garter; he was officially invested by the Queen into the order on 16 June 2008, at a service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The last time a monarch had appointed a grandchild into the Order of the Garter was in 1894, when Queen Victoria invested Prince Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

;Medals

;Foreign honours 6 July 2008: Joint Service Achievement Medal

Honorary military appointments

; Canada 10 November 2009 present: Canadian Ranger

; United Kingdom 8 August 2006 present: Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Clyde 8 August 2006 present: Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy Submarine Service 8 August 2006 present: Commodore-in-Chief of Scotland 3 October 2008 present: Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Coningsby 10 February 2011 present: Colonel of the Irish Guards

Honorific eponyms

;Awards : Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Award, University of Waterloo, Waterloo

Arms

Bannerimage	Royal Standard of Prince William.svg
Notes	On his 18th birthday, Prince William was granted his own personalised coat of arms; these consist of the escutcheon of the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom with a label for difference.
Year adopted	21 June 2000
Escutcheon	Quarterly 1st and 4th Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or (England) Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counterflory gules (Scotland) Azure, a harp or stringed argent (Ireland).
Orders	The Order of the Garter ribbon.HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE''(Shame be to him who thinks evil of it)''
Other elements	The whole distinguished by a label of three points argent, the central point charged with an escallop gules.
Banner	The Duke of Cambridge's personal Royal Standard is that of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom, labelled for difference as in his arms. 50px As Earl of Strathearn, the personal standard in Scotland follows the pattern of the UK Royal Standard used in Scotland, labelled for difference.
Symbolism	As the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, Prince William's coat of arms has a label of three points. The ''escallop'' (seashell) alludes to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whose Spencer coat of arms includes three ''escallops argent''.
Previous versions	}}

Personal standard for Canada

The Duke of Cambridge also holds a personal royal standard for Canada, consisting of the shield of the Canadian Royal Arms defaced with both a blue roundel surrounded by a wreath of gold maple leaves and shells, within which is a depiction William's cypher (a ''W'' surmounted by a coronet), and a white label of three points, charged with a red shell.

Ancestry

William is a male line descendant of Elimar I, Count of Oldenburg, and as such a member of the House of Oldenburg, one of Europe's oldest royal houses, and more specifically the cadet branch known as the House of Glücksburg, founded by his paternal ancestor Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. William belongs to the Royal Family of Windsor. His male line ancestors include five kings—Christian I of Denmark, Frederick I of Denmark, Christian III of Denmark, Christian IX of Denmark and George I of Greece—and also 11 counts of Oldenburg, two dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, five dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck and one duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Among his other recent, cognatic ancestors on his father's side are notably members of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the House of Battenberg, the main line of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, the House of Hesse-Kassel and the House of Hohenzollern. Among his distant cognatic ancestors are also Henry IV and James II and VII. Should he become king, William would be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be descended from Charles I and Charles II, as his mother was descended from two of Charles's II illegitimate sons, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, and Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond. Through his father, William is of German and English descent, and through his mother's family, the Spencers, William is of English descent and of remote Irish, Scottish and American descent.

He is also descended from many of the pre-Union monarchs of Scotland and the pre-Conquest monarchs of England, and many notable foreign monarchs including, Peter I of Russia ("Peter the Great"), Catherine II of Russia ("Catherine the Great"), Nicholas I of Russia, Afonso I of Portugal, Andrew II of Hungary, Ferdinand II of Aragon, Isabella I of Castile, and early French kings.

See also

Royal William, a German red rose named after Prince William shortly after his birth

Notes

References

External links

Royal.gov.uk – Prince William

Prince of Wales.gov.uk – Prince William

Monarchy Wales – leading campaign organisation

Illustrated biography of Prince William

Prince William graduates from RMAS

Prince William talks with NBC's Matt Lauer

|- in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland |- |- |- |- |-

Category:1982 births Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews Category:Blues and Royals officers Category:British water polo players Category:Dukes of Cambridge Category:Earls or mormaers of Strathearn Category:English Anglicans Category:English polo players Category:Royal Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Knights of the Garter Category:Living people Category:House of Windsor Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family Category:Old Etonians Category:Old Ludgrovians Category:People from London Category:Presidents of the Football Association Category:Princes of the United Kingdom Category:Royal Air Force officers Category:Royal Navy officers Category:Sandhurst graduates Category:Helicopter pilots Category:People educated at Wetherby School *

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Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Catherine
title	Duchess of Cambridge (more)
imgw	200px
full name	Catherine Elizabeth
house	House of Windsor
spouse	Prince William, Duke of Cambridge(m. 2011)
father	Michael Middleton
mother	Carole Middleton (née Goldsmith)
birth date	January 09, 1982
birth place	Reading, Berkshire, England
religion	Anglican (Church of England) }}

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth "Kate"; ''née'' Middleton; born 9 January 1982), is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. The Duke of Cambridge is second in line to the thrones of the sixteen Commonwealth realms and, should he eventually become king (as is expected), she would automatically become his queen consort. Catherine grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England. She studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met the then Prince William of Wales in 2001.

They started a romantic relationship and, once it became public, she received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that she and Prince William would eventually marry. During a break-up lasting for several months in 2007, they continued to be friends and then rekindled their relationship later that year. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and Middleton attended many high-profile royal events before they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey.

Biography

Early life and family

Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 and christened at St Andrew's Bradfield, Berkshire on 20 June 1982. She is the eldest of three children born to Carole (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant and now part-owner of Party Pieces, a private company with an estimated worth of £30 million, and Michael Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways, currently also an owner of Party Pieces. Her parents married on 21 June 1980, at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and in 1987, founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Her siblings are Pippa and James Middleton. The family has complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Middleton's engagement.

Middleton's paternal family came from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work. Her ancestors include the Revd Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer. Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.

Middleton's parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984, to September 1986, where she went to an English language nursery school, before returning to their home in Berkshire. After her return from Amman, Middleton was educated at St Andrew's School near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire, followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where she met Prince William. She graduated with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in the History of Art.

Career

In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. She also worked part-time until January 2011 as a catalogue photographer, webpage designer and marketing officer for her parents' firm "Party Pieces". In 2008, it was reported that she had quit her job at Jigsaw to become a professional photographer, intending to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.

Public image and style

Catherine is admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists. She was selected by ''The Daily Telegraph'' as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers. ''Tatler'' placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007. She was featured in ''People'' magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists. Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007. In June 2008, Style.com selected Middleton as its monthly beauty icon. In July 2008, Middleton was included in ''Vanity Fair''s international best-dressed list. In February 2011, she was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.

The Duchess is known for mixing couture pieces, often by British designers, with 'High Street' retail fashion. Designers worn by the Duchess include Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, Issa, Jenny Packham, Beulah London, Alice Temperley, Erdem and Catherine Walker; high street labels worn by the Duchess include Reiss, Zara and L.K.Bennett.

In January 2012, she was voted 'Headwear Person of the Year'.

Relationship with Prince William

Middleton's status as the undeclared girlfriend of Prince William brought her widespread media coverage in Britain and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity. In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty Protection branch (SO14). This fuelled further speculation that she and Prince William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.

No engagement was forthcoming and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of her 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both The Prince of Wales and Prince William and from Middleton's lawyers, who threatened legal action. Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes ''The Times'' and ''The Sun'', and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of ''The Guardian'', decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her. Middleton attended at least one event as an official royal guest, Prince William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. In December 2007, it was reported that she had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London. Clarence House later denied this.

On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of Prince William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend. On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. Prince William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS ''Iron Duke''. In 2010, Middleton pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009. She obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs.

Breakup and reconciliation

On 14 April 2007, ''The Sun'' newspaper broke a "world exclusive" suggesting that Prince William and Middleton had split up. Other media outlets, such as the BBC, confirmed the story as the day progressed. The couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt. Clarence House made only one comment about the relationship's end, according to ''The Times'', stating, "We don't comment on Prince William's private life". Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources.

The original report in ''The Sun'' quoted a "close friend of the couple" as saying that Middleton felt Prince William had not been paying her enough attention. The paper highlighted reports that Prince William had been spending time with other young women and said the Prince, aged 24 at the time of the split, felt he was too young to marry. A report in the ''Daily Mail'' blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to "hurry along" a marriage announcement, and Prince William's desire to enjoy his bachelor status within his Army career. The ''Mail'' also suggested that a friend of Prince William encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Middleton had "expected too much" in wanting Prince William to demonstrate his commitment to her.

In June 2007, Middleton and Prince William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation. Middleton and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and Prince William sat two rows apart. The couple were subsequently seen together in public on a number of occasions and several news sources, including the BBC and the ''Daily Mail'', stated that they had "rekindled their relationship". She also joined Prince William and The Prince of Wales on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral and attended the wedding of Prince William's cousin, Peter Phillips, even though Prince William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008, Middleton accompanied Prince William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. On 16 June 2008, she attended Prince William's investiture into the Order of the Garter, along with the Royal Family.

Engagement and wedding

Prince William and Catherine Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate Prince William passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010. The couple married in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011, (St. Catherine's Day) with the day declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom. Estimates of the global audience for the wedding ranged around 300 million or more, whilst 26 million watched the event live in the United Kingdom.

In October, several months after the wedding, Commonwealth leaders approved a change in British royal succession law that allows daughters of future monarchs to have equal rights to the throne.

Royal duties

Public appearances

Middleton was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, two months before the wedding, when she and Prince William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Trearddur, Anglesey in North Wales. A day later they appeared in St Andrews and launched the university's 600th anniversary celebrations. On 16 February 2011, Clarence House announced that the Duke and Duchess's first royal tour of Canada would take place in July 2011.

In May 2011, shortly after the wedding, and while The Prince of Wales was in official visit to the United States, Clarence House announced that the Duke and Duchess would visit California after their Canadian tour. It was the Duchess of Cambridge's first visit to the United States.

She recently handed out medals to the members of the Irish Guards. The Duchess visited the Canadian Museum of Civilization to attend a citizenship ceremony, on 1 July 2011 in Gatineau, Canada. The newly married Royal Couple were on the second day of their first joint overseas tour. They were joined by thousands of Canadians taking part in the Canada Day celebrations, which mark Canada’s 144th Birthday.

On 2 November, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the UNICEF Supply Division Centre for supplying food to malnourished African children in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Patronages

In January 2012, the Duchess announced the first charities of which she will be a patron.

These are: the Art Room

the National Portrait Gallery, London

East Anglia's Children's Hospice (EACH)

Action on Addiction

In addition, she will be a local volunteer leader with the Scout Association in Anglesey, north Wales, her marital home.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

name	The Duchess of Cambridge
dipstyle	Her Royal Highness
offstyle	Your Royal Highness
altstyle	Ma'am }}

9 January 1982 29 April 2011: ''Miss'' Catherine Elizabeth Middleton 29 April 2011 present: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Duchess of Cambridge

Catherine's full title and style is ''Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus''.

Unlike the majority of royal brides, and in contrast to most previous consorts-in-waiting for over 350 years, Catherine does not come from a royal or aristocratic background. On the morning of their wedding day on 29 April 2011, at 8:00 am, officials at Buckingham Palace announced that in accordance with royal tradition and on recognition of the day by the Queen, Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Honours

Honorary military appointments

; Canada 5 July 2011 present: Canadian Ranger

Honorific eponyms

;Awards : Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Award, University of Waterloo, Waterloo

Arms

Notes	The Duchess bears the arms of her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, impaled with her own arms. Catherine's coat of arms is based on those of her father Michael Middleton, which was granted to him by the College of Arms on 19 April 2011. Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, the senior officer of the College of Arms, helped the family with the design.
Year adopted	19 April 2011
Coronet	Coronet of a child of the Heir Apparent
Escutcheon	Quarterly 1st and 4th Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langed Azure (England), 2nd Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second (Scotland), 3rd Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland), the whole differenced with a label of three points Argent with the central point charged with an escallop Gules (Prince William); Impaled with a shield per pale Azure and Gules, a chevron Or, cotised Argent, between three acorns slipped and leaved Or (Middleton).
Symbolism	right|100px The dividing line (between two colours) down the centre is a canting of the name 'Middle-ton'. The acorns (from the oak tree) are a traditional symbol of England and a feature of west Berkshire, where the family have lived for 30 years. The three acorns also denote the family's three children. The gold chevron in the centre of the arms is an allusion to Carole Middleton's maiden name of Goldsmith. The two white chevronels (narrow chevrons above and below the gold chevron) symbolise peaks and mountains, and the family's love of the Lake District and skiing.
Previous versions	Her previous coat of arms depicted a lozenge shaped shield of arms which hangs from a blue ribbon, this symbolised her unmarried state. This version of the arms is now used only by her sister Pippa as it denotes an unmarried daughter of their father Michael Middleton. }}

Ancestry

In a study of the ancestry of Catherine, William Addams Reitwiesner uncovered that she shares ancestors with her husband Prince William; the closest relationship is via Prince William's mother and Catherine's father through a common descent from Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife Agnes (or Anne) Gascoigne, daughter of Sir William Gascoigne and his wife, née Lady Margaret Percy. This makes the couple fifteenth cousins. Sir Thomas Fairfax and Agnes Gascoigne are through Catherine's great-grandmother Olive Lupton, daughter of a Leeds cloth merchant Francis Lupton and his wife Harriet (née Davis) – Fairfax being an ancestor of Lupton. In turn Lady Margaret Percy is descended from Edward III.

Middleton's maternal great-great-grandfather John Goldsmith was married to Esther Jones at St John's Hoxton in 1850.

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Popular culture

Following international attention regarding the wedding, Lifetime aired a TV movie entitled ''William & Kate'' on 18 April 2011, in the US. The film premiered in the UK on 24 April 2011. Middleton was played by Camilla Luddington and Prince William by Nico Evers-Swindell. TV programmes were also shown in the UK prior to the wedding which provided deeper insights into the couple's relationship and backgrounds, including ''When Kate Met William'' and Channel 4's ''Meet the Middletons''.

A second TV Movie is also being produced that covers much the same ground as "William & Kate". That movie titled ''William & Catherine: A Royal Romance'' stars Alice St. Clair as Kate Middleton and Dan Amboyer as Prince William. Of note in this second television movie is the appearance of Jane Alexander as the Queen and ''Alias'' alum Victor Garber as the Prince of Wales. According to The Hollywood Reporter the movie is scheduled to air 27 August 2011 in the United States on the Hallmark Channel. The movie was filmed in Bucharest.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

}}

External links

The Duchess of Cambridge The British Monarchy official website

Engaged! Prince William and Kate, LIFE, 25 April 2011

"Popular girl who caught royal eye", ''BBC News'', 31 March 2005

"Royal wedding: Family tree", ''BBC News'', 13 April 2011

Cracroft's Peerage

in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews Category:British duchesses by marriage Category:British princesses by marriage Category:English Anglicans Category:English socialites Category:House of Windsor Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family Category:Old Marlburians Category:Old St Andrews Category:People from Bucklebury Category:Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

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Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
years active	1992–present
background	solo_singer
birth name	Britney Jean Spears
birth date	December 02, 1981
birth place
genre	Pop, dance
occupation	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
instrument	Vocals, piano
label	Jive
associated acts	InnosenseThe New Mickey Mouse Club
website	}}

Britney Jean Spears (born 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ''...Baby One More Time'' in 1999. During her first decade within the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.

In 2001, she released her third studio album ''Britney'' and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film ''Crossroads''. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'' (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went under hiatus. Her fifth studio album, ''Blackout'', was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album ''Circus'' was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour, The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. Her seventh studio album ''Femme Fatale'', released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States.

Spears has sold over 100 million records worldwide. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard''. In June 2010, Spears was ranked sixth on ''Forbes'' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world; she is also the third most mentioned musician on the internet, according to ''Forbes''.

Biography

1981–97: Early life and career beginnings

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, who was born in London, and of distant Maltese descent. Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn. At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform a solo at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age". At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Casting director Matt Cassella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical ''Ruthless!''. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show ''Star Search'', as well as being cast in a number of commercials. In December 1992, she was finally cast in ''The Mickey Mouse Club'', but returned to Kentwood after the show was canceled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in ''Clueless'' with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song from Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph. Senior vice president of A&R; Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'— is extremely important. And Britney had that." They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney." After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others.

1998–00: ''...Baby One More Time'' and ''Oops!... I Did It Again''

After Spears returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour to promote her forthcoming album. Her show was a four song set and she was accompanied by two back up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for 'N Sync. Her debut album, ''...Baby One More Time'', was released on January 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year. It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist. The title track was released as the lead single from the album. Originally, Jive Records wanted its music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected it, and suggested the final idea of a Catholic schoolgirl. The single sold 500,000 copies on its first day, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks. "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history. Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ''...Baby One More Time'' to sell 26 million copies.

The April 1999 cover of ''Rolling Stone'' featured Spears lying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time." Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage. On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics, but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show. ''Oops!... I Did It Again'', her second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1,3 million copies, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist. The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' said that "the great thing about ''Oops!'' – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition." The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.

The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, ''Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart'', co-written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake.

2001–03: ''Britney'', ''Crossroads'' and ''In the Zone''

In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled ''A Mother’s Gift''. Her third studio album, ''Britney'', was released in November 2001. While on tour, she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound. The album debuted at number one in the ''Billboard'' 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called ''Britney'' "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet." The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of ''Entertainment Weekly'''s "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years". The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.

Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. To support the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the ''pièce de résistance'' being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage. The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour. Her career success was highlighted by ''Forbes'' in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. Spears also landed her first starring role in ''Crossroads'', released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting. ''Crossroads'', which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide. In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised". In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in October to record her new album. Spears's relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him. As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani. The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst confirmed that he was in a relationship with Spears, only to deny it later. In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her." Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized.

Spears released her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'', in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material. ''Vibe'' called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter." NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work." ''In the Zone'' sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. ''In the Zone'' sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous".

2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles and ''Blackout''

On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions". She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of ''In the Zone'' in March 2004. On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled. During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.

In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show ''Britney & Kevin: Chaotic''. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement. Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, ''Curious'', which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume. In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family. ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative'', her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway. The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe. Worldwide, ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative'' sold over 5 million copies. In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons. Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, ''B in the Mix: The Remixes'', which consists of eleven remixes. In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part. The following month, she guest-starred on the ''Will & Grace'' episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as closeted lesbian Amber Louise. She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion." Two months later, Spears posed nude for the cover of ''Harper's Bazaar''. The picture was heavily compared to Demi Moore's August 1991 ''Vanity Fair'' cover. She gave birth to her second child, Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006. On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children. Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January. On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, Los Angeles. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD." In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour. Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.

Her fifth studio album, ''Blackout'', was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's ''Long Road out of Eden''— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. ''Blackout'' sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide. Peter Robinson of ''The Observer'' said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's ''Shock Value'' and her own back catalogue." Dennis Lim of ''Blender'' commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop." ''Blackout'' won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by ''The Times''. Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted. The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.

2008–10: Conservatorship and ''Circus''

On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. Spears was released on February 6, 2008. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her. The following month, she guest-starred on the ''How I Met Your Mother'' episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series its highest ratings ever. In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel. On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for "Piece of Me". A 60-minute introspective documentary, ''Britney: For the Record'', was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, ''For the Record'' was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008. Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. ''For the Record'' was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 5.6 million viewers for the two airings on the premiere night. MTV reported that Spears' documentary garnered on average, the highest rating in its Sunday night timeslot, in the network's history.

Her sixth studio album ''Circus'', was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100. ''Circus'' debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the ''Guinness Book of World Records''. She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold. ''Circus'' became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year, and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden. It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members. Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.

She released her second greatest hits album, ''The Singles Collection'' in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years. Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!". In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship. Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010. On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show ''Glee'', titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics. The episode drew ''Glee'''s second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.

2011–present: ''Femme Fatale''

In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album ''Femme Fatale''. Max Martin and Dr. Luke executive produced the album and the album's first single "Hold It Against Me". The single debuted at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This gave Spears her fourth number-one single on the chart, and made her only the second artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at number-one, after Mariah Carey. The album peaked at number one in the United States(selling 276,000 copies), Canada, and Australia, and peaked inside the top ten on nearly every other chart. The album's peak in the United States ties Britney with Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson for the third-most number ones among women. ''Femme Fatale'' has sold over 590,000 copies in the United States and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album received positive critical reviews after its release, receiving a score of 67 on Metacritic, her highest critical score since ''Oops!... I Did It Again,'' with many critics naming the album one of Spears's best. In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix to the song "S&M;" by Rihanna after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with. The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Britney her fifth number one on the chart. In early May, Spears' second single from ''Femme Fatale'', "Till The World Ends", reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and had ninety-eight million audience impressions on the ''Billboard'' chart, granting Spears the highest weekly audience of her 13-year chart career. ''Femme Fatale's'' third single "I Wanna Go" reached the top forty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June 2011. Among females in the last thirteen years, Spears now has the third-most top forty hits, with twenty-one. In August, the single managed to reach the top-ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which is the first time for Spears to have three songs from one album in the top-ten. On the week ending September 24, 2011, "I Wanna Go" moved 2-1 on the mainstream top 40, becoming her sixth number-one on that chart (making her tied for third all-time) and her first number-one and third top-ten pop song for ''Femme Fatale.'' Spears now has the longest span of number ones on the mainstream top 40, with a length of twelve years, seven months, and four days.

On March 2011, Spears announced that she would tour throughout the United States during summer 2011 The Femme Fatale Tour opened June 16 at the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California to positive reviews. Many critics noted that Spears sang more of the concert live in response to lip-synching accusations during The Circus Starring Britney Spears, and that the dancing is some of her best in years. The first ten US dates of the tour grossed $6.2 million, landing the fifty-fifth spot on Pollstar's Top 100 North American Tours list for the half-way point of the year. The tour will travel to Europe and South and Central America later in 2011. On August 12, Spears announced that her performances at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto will be taped to air on the EPIX television channel and for a DVD release, resulting in the doubling of traffic to EPIX social sites and 'Britney Spears' becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. Her first televised concert since the Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004, the show, ''Britney Spears: Femme Fatale,'' was shot in 2D and 3D on August 13 and 14 and will premiere on Epix in November.

On June 15, 2011, it was announced by ''Billboard'' that the RCA/Jive Label Group would be splitting, with Jive Records going to a restructured Epic Records, and RCA Records staying intact. In August it was announced that Spears had officially joined the RCA's roster. During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28 2011, MTV played tribute to Spears with a group of young female dancers that memorialised Britney's music videos, performances, and style. Following which, Spears accepted the MTV Video Vanguard Award from Lady Gaga, who said that "industry wouldn't be the same without [her]".

On September 9, 2011, Spears announced that her second remix album, ''B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2'', will be released on October 11, along with the tracklist.

Musical style and performance

Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. ''The Daily Yomiuri'' reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson." ''Rolling Stone'' wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene." Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice." Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry." Spears later commented, "With ''...Baby One More Time'', I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".

''Oops!...I Did It Again'' and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B; producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga." Her third studio album, ''Britney'' derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums." Guy Blackman of ''The Age'' wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."

Her vocal ability has also been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance." Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics. In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she ''can'' indulge herself. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's."

Like other dance-oriented pop stars, it has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book ''Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books'' (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna." Rashod D. Ollison of ''The Baltimore Sun'' observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert."

In Australia, NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge has advised disclaimers be printed on any ticket for concerts which contain any prerecorded vocals. She commented: "There could have been some instances where people actually go and purchase a ticket thinking that they're going to have a live performance ... for some people that means that everything is live, it's fresh, it happens instantaneously, it's not something that's been pre-recorded. You want to make sure that they're actually paying for what they think they're getting." Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, ''Los Angeles Daily News'' reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all". Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the ''Orlando Sentinel'' remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound." Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.

Influences

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration. According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know." In the 2002 book ''Madonnastyle'' by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."

Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the ''Rocky Mountain Collegian'' observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon." However, in examining her level of skill as an artist, it is questioned that "[a]lthough she has been classified among female elites such as Janet Jackson and Madonna, what does Ms. Spears really have in common with these divas of rock?" Joan Anderman of ''The Boston Globe'' remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B; producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."

Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album ''Britney'' "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best." Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [''Britney''] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'."

Citing Jackson's resolve to incorporate personal and social issues into her work and Madonna's ability to constantly redefine the boundaries of socially acceptable material in the industry, Spears's catalog ultimately pales in comparison, because "[w]hile Jackson and Madonna wrote their own music about subjects of importance, [Spears's] music sounds like an upbeat version of either, 'I want to grow up but the media won't let me,' or 'Here kitty, kitty, I'm wearing my underwear outside of my leather pants'-type ballads." In contrast, Guy Blackman argues that although "no one would argue that Spears is some kind of pioneering pop auteur, there’s still a lot to like about her back catalogue. During her world-conquering peak, she was just about as cutting edge as you could get in the world of global pop superstardom. Spears didn’t just work with big names, she gave big names their names, and maintained her high currency in the world’s most fickle industry for years, when most aspiring starlets are lucky to manage months."

After meeting Spears face to face, Janet Jackson stated: "she said to me, 'I'm such a big fan; I really admire you.' That's so flattering. Everyone gets inspiration from some place. And it's awesome to see someone else coming up who's dancing and singing, and seeing how all these kids relate to her. A lot of people put it down, but what she does is a positive thing." Madonna's respect for Spears has also been a subject of observation. Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of ''Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, 1983-2003'' (2004) note that the most well known cross-generational relationship exists between Spears and Madonna in which "the entertainment newsmedia almost became obsessed with their relationship of mutual admiration." The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act."

Legacy

Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank". She is listed by the ''Guinness World Records'' as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ''...Baby One More Time'' which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States. Melissa Ruggieri of the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide".

Barbara Ellen of ''The Observer'' has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry". 'Britney Spears' was Yahoo!'s most popular search term between 2005 and 2008, and has been in a total of seven different years. Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the ''Guinness World Records'' book edition 2007 and 2009. Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Kristinia DeBarge, Lady Gaga, Little Boots, Selena Gomez & the Scene, Pixie Lott and Miley Cyrus who has cited Spears as one of her biggest inspirations and has also referenced Spears in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A.". Spears' personal breakdown was also cited as an inspiration for Barry Manilow's album "''15 Minutes''".

In 2011, Adam Markovitz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' commented on the cultural significance of Spears' voice and music. "We don't ask a whole lot from Britney Spears as an entertainer...we'll still send her straight up the charts simply because she's Britney. She's an American institution, as deeply sacred and messed up as pro wrestling or the filibuster. Musically, though, Spears will always have to measure up to her own gold standards of pop euphony: the operatic slither of 2004's 'Toxic' and the candied funk of 2000's 'Oops!...I Did It Again.' Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls."

Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. She is also mentioned in P!nk's song "Don't Let Me Get Me". She was cited as the inspiration of Gwyneth Paltrow's character in the 2010 film ''Country Strong''. Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". ''People'' magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears. Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.

Discography

''...Baby One More Time'' (1999)

''Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000)

''Britney'' (2001)

''In the Zone'' (2003)

''Blackout'' (2007)

''Circus'' (2008)

''Femme Fatale'' (2011)

Tours

...Baby One More Time Tour (1999-2000)

Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000)

Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001-02)

The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004)

The M+M's Tour (2007)

The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009)

Femme Fatale Tour (2011)

See also

Britney Spears filmography

Britney Spears products

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

Notes

References

Further reading

Dennis, Steve (2009). ''Britney: Inside the Dream''. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007317516.

Peters, Beth (1999). ''True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears''. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345436870.

Scott, Kieran (2001). ''I was a Mouseketeer!.'' Disney Press. ISBN 978-0786844708.

Smith, Sean (2006). ''Britney The Unauthorized Biography of Britney Spears.'' Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330440776.

Spears, Britney (2000). ''Britney Spears's Heart to Heart''. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0609807019.

Stevens, Amanda (2001). ''Britney Spears: the illustrated story.'' Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823078677.

External links

Category:1981 births Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female pop singers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American music video directors Category:American musicians of English descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Maltese descent Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Innosense members Category:Jive Records artists Category:RCA Records artists Category:Living people Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Parklane Academy alumni Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Kentwood, Louisiana Category:Sony BMG artists Category:World Music Awards winners

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