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 16 Commonwealth realms and, should he eventually become King, 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 Middleton (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. Middleton has a younger sister, Pippa and a younger brother, James Middleton. The family has complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Middleton's engagement.

Middleton's paternal ancestors were from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. Her paternal 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 worked for British Airways in Amman, Jordan from May 1984 to September 1986. In Jordan, Middleton went to an English language nursery school before returning to their home in Berkshire. After her return from Amman, Middleton was enrolled at St Andrew's School near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She attended Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire, and graduated from the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in the History of Art. While a student at St. Andrews, she met Prince William.

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.

In June 2011, the Duke and Duchess 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.

On St Patrick's day, 17 March 2012, the Duchess carried out the traditional awarding of shamrocks to the Irish Guards at their base in Aldershot; this was her first solo military engagement.

The couple is due to visit Malaysia, Singapore, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands as a part of the Royal Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Patronages

In March 2011, William and Catherine have set up a gift fund held by The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to allow well-wishers who want to give them a wedding gift to donate money to charities they care about instead. The gift fund supported 26 charities of the couple’s choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport and conservation. These causes are close to their hearts and reflect the experiences, passions and values of their lives so far.

In January 2012, the Duchess announced the first charities which she will support.

These are: The Art Room

The National Portrait Gallery, London

East Anglia's Children's Hospice (EACH)

Action on Addiction

She will also be a local volunteer leader with the Scout Association in Anglesey, north Wales, her marital home.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

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

9 January 198229 April 2011: ''Miss'' Catherine Elizabeth Middleton 29 April 2011present: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Duchess of Cambridge

Catherine's full title and style is ''Her Royal Highness The 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 2011present: 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.

On a February 9, 2011 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen told her studio audience via a letter from the New England Genealogical Society that she is Kate Middleton's 15th cousin via their shared common ancestor Thomas Fairfax.

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge |2= 2. Michael Middleton |3= 3. Carole Goldsmith |4= 4. Peter Francis Middleton |5= 5. Valerie Glassborow |6= 6. Ronald Goldsmith |7= 7. Dorothy Harrison |8= 8. Noel Middleton |9= 9. Olive Lupton |10= 10. Frederick George Glassborow |11= 11. Constance Robison |12= 12. Stephen Charles Goldsmith |13= 13. Edith Eliza Chandler |14= 14. Thomas Harrison |15= 15. Elizabeth Temple |16= 16. John Middleton |17= 17. Mary Asquith |18= 18. Francis Lupton |19= 19. Harriet Albina Davis |20= 20. Frederick Glassborow |21= 21. Emily Jane Elliott |22= 22. Gavin Fullarton Robison |23= 23. Sarah Ann Gee |24= 24. John Goldsmith |25= 25. Jane Dorsett |26= 26. Theophilus Benjamin Chandler |27= 27. Amelia White |28= 28. John Harrison |29= 29. Jane Hill |30= 30. Thomas Temple |31= 31. Elizabeth Myers }}

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

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

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:People educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne Category:People from Bucklebury Category:Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

af:Catherine, Hertogin van Cambridge ar:كاثرين دوقة كامبريدج an:Catarina de Cambridge az:Ketrin, Kembric hersoginyası be:Кэтрын, герцагіня Кембрыджская bcl:Kate Middleton bg:Кейт Мидълтън bs:Catherine Middleton br:Catherine, dugez Cambridge ca:Caterina, Duquessa de Cambridge cs:Catherine, vévodkyně z Cambridge cbk-zam:Kate Middleton cy:Catherine, Duges Caergrawnt da:Catherine, hertuginde af Cambridge de:Catherine Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of Cambridge et:Catherine, Cambridge'i hertsoginna el:Αικατερίνη, Δούκισσα του Κέμπριτζ es:Catalina de Cambridge eo:Kate Middleton eu:Katalina Cambridgekoa fa:کاترین، دوشس کمبریج fr:Catherine Middleton fy:Catherine, Hartoginne fan Cambridge ga:Kate Middleton gl:Catalina de Cambridge ko:케임브리지 공작 부인 캐서린 hy:Քեմբրիջի դքսուհի Քեյթ Միդլթոն hi:कैथरीन एलिज़ाबेथ मिडिलटन hr:Catherine, vojvotkinja od Cambridgea ilo:Kate Middleton id:Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge ie:Kate Middleton is:Katrín, hertogaynja af Cambridge it:Catherine Middleton he:קתרין, דוכסית קיימברידג' jv:Catherine Elizabeth Middleton kn:ಕ್ಯಾಥರಿನ್ ಮಿಡ್ಲ್‌ಟನ್ lv:Katrīna, Kembridžas hercogiene lt:Catherine, Kembridžo kunigaikštienė hu:Katalin cambridge-i hercegné mk:Кетрин (војвотка од Кембриџ) mt:Catherine Middleton mr:केंब्रिजची डचेस कॅथरीन ms:Catherine, Duchess Cambridge nl:Catherine Middleton ne:क्याथरीन, क्यामब्रिज की रानी ja:キャサリン (ケンブリッジ公爵夫人) no:Catherine, hertuginne av Cambridge nn:Catherine, hertuginne av Cambridge oc:Kate Middleton uz:Catherine Middleton pag:Kate Middleton pnb:کیتھرین ماؤنٹبیٹن ونڈسر pl:Katarzyna, księżna Cambridge pt:Catherine, Duquesa de Cambridge ro:Catherine, Ducesă de Cambridge ru:Кэтрин, герцогиня Кембриджская scn:Catirina Middleton si:කේට්‌ මිඩ්ල්ටන් simple:Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge sr:Кетрин, војвоткиња од Кембриџа fi:Catherine, Cambridgen herttuatar sv:Catherine, hertiginna av Cambridge tl:Catherine, Dukesa ng Cambridge ta:கேட் மிடில்டன் th:แคเธอริน ดัชเชสแห่งเคมบริดจ์ tr:Kate Middleton uk:Кетрін, герцогиня Кембриджська vi:Catherine, Công nương Cambridge war:Kate Middleton zh:凱薩琳 (劍橋公爵夫人)

{{infobox royalty|consort	yes
name	Prince Philip
title	Duke of Edinburgh
imgw	200
succession	Consort of Elizabeth II
reign
succession1	Duke of Edinburgh
reign1
spouse	Elizabeth II (m. 1947)
issue	Charles, Prince of WalesAnne, Princess RoyalPrince Andrew, Duke of YorkPrince Edward, Earl of Wessex
house	House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
father	Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
mother	Princess Alice of Battenberg
birth date	June 10, 1921
birth place	Villa Mon Repos, Corfu, Greece
religion	Church of England''prev.'' Greek Orthodox }}

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark 10 June 1921)|group=fn}} is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch.

A member of the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince Philip was born into the Greek royal family, but his family was exiled from Greece when he was a child. After being educated in Germany, England and Scotland, he joined the British Royal Navy at the age of 18 in 1939. From July 1939, he began corresponding with Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter and heiress presumptive of King George VI. During World War II he served with the Mediterranean and Pacific fleets.

After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. Prior to the official engagement announcement, he renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and became a naturalised British subject, adopting the surname Mountbatten from his British maternal grandparents. After an official engagement of five months, as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten he married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. On his marriage, he was granted the style of His Royal Highness and the title of Duke of Edinburgh by his father-in-law. Philip left active service, having reached the rank of Commander, when Elizabeth became Queen in 1952. His wife made him a Prince of the United Kingdom in 1957 and Lord High Admiral in 2011.

Philip has four children with Elizabeth: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward. Through an Order in Council issued in 1960, descendants of Philip and Elizabeth not bearing royal styles and titles can use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, which has also been used by some members who do hold titles, such as Charles and Anne. A keen sportsman, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He is a patron of over 800 organisations, and chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme for people aged 14 to 24 years.

Early life

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born at Villa Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Philip's four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised at St George's Church at the ''Palaio Frourio'' (Old Fortress) in Haddokkos a few days after his birth. His godparents were Queen Olga of Greece (his paternal grandmother, for whom his first cousin, Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, stood proxy) and the Corfu City Council, represented by Alexander Kokotos, Mayor of Corfu, and Stylianos Maniarizis, Chairman of the Corfu City Council.

Shortly after Philip's birth, his maternal grandfather, Prince Louis of Battenberg, died in London. Louis was a naturalised British citizen and, after long and distinguished service in the Royal Navy, had renounced his German titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten. After visiting London for the memorial, Philip and his mother returned to Greece where Prince Andrew had remained behind to command an army division embroiled in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).

The war went badly for Greece, and the Turks made large gains. On 22 September 1922, Philip's uncle, the reigning King Constantine I of Greece, was forced to abdicate, and Prince Andrew, along with others, was arrested by the military government. The commander of the army, General Georgios Hatzianestis, and five senior politicians were executed. Prince Andrew's life was believed to be in danger, and Alice was under surveillance. In December, a revolutionary court banished Prince Andrew from Greece for life. The British naval vessel HMS ''Calypso'' evacuated Prince Andrew's family, with Philip being carried to safety in a cot made from a fruit box. Philip's family went to France, where they settled in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud in a house lent to them by his aunt, Princess George of Greece.

Although both he and his father were born in Greece, he "has no Greek blood and does not speak Greek". In 1992, Philip said that he "could understand a certain amount of" the language. He has stated that he considers himself to be Scandinavian, particularly Danish. He speaks fluent English, German and French.

Youth

Education

Philip was first educated at an American school in Paris run by Donald MacJannet, who described Philip as a "rugged, boisterous ... but always remarkably polite" boy. In 1928, he was sent to the UK to attend Cheam School, living with his maternal grandmother at Kensington Palace and his uncle, George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, at Lynden Manor in Bray, Berkshire. In the next three years, his four sisters married German noblemen and moved to Germany, his mother was placed in an asylum after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, and his father moved to a small flat in Monte Carlo. Philip had little contact with his mother for the remainder of his childhood. In 1933, he was sent to ''Schule Schloss Salem'' in Germany, which had the "advantage of saving school fees" because it was owned by the family of his brother-in-law, Berthold, Margrave of Baden. With the rise of Nazism in Germany, Salem's Jewish founder, Kurt Hahn, fled persecution and founded Gordonstoun School in Scotland. After two terms at Salem, Philip moved to Gordonstoun. In 1937, his sister Cecilie, her husband (Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse), her two young sons and her mother-in-law were killed in an air crash at Ostend; Philip, then only sixteen years of age, attended the funeral in Darmstadt. The following year, his uncle and guardian Lord Milford Haven died of bone cancer.

Naval service

After leaving Gordonstoun in 1939, Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy, graduating the next year from the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, as the top cadet in his course. He was commissioned as a midshipman in January 1940. Philip spent four months on the battleship HMS ''Ramillies'', protecting convoys of the Australian Expeditionary Force in the Indian Ocean, followed by shorter postings on HM Ships ''Kent'', ''Shropshire'' and in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). After the invasion of Greece by Italy in October 1940, he was transferred from the Indian Ocean to the battleship HMS ''Valiant'' in the Mediterranean Fleet. Among other engagements, he was involved in the Battle of Crete, was mentioned in despatches for his service during the Battle of Cape Matapan where he controlled the battleship's searchlights.

Philip was also awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour. Duties of lesser glory included stoking the boilers of the troop transport ship RMS ''Empress of Russia''.

Prince Philip was promoted to sub-lieutenant after a series of courses at Portsmouth in which he gained the top grade in four out of five sections. In June 1942, he was appointed to the V and W class destroyer and flotilla leader, HMS ''Wallace'', which was involved in convoy escort tasks on the east coast of Britain, as well as the allied invasion of Sicily. Promotion to lieutenant followed on 16 July 1942. In October of the same year, at just 21 years of age, he became first lieutenant of HMS ''Wallace'' and one of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy. During the invasion of Sicily, in July 1943, as second in command of HMS ''Wallace'', he saved his ship from a night bomber attack. He devised a plan to launch a raft with smoke floats that successfully distracted the bombers allowing the ship to slip away unnoticed. In 1944, he moved on to the new destroyer, HMS ''Whelp'', where he saw service with the British Pacific Fleet in the 27th Destroyer Flotilla. He was present in Tokyo Bay when the instrument of Japanese surrender was signed. In January 1946, Philip returned to the United Kingdom on the ''Whelp'', and was posted as an instructor at HMS ''Royal Arthur'', the Petty Officers' School in Corsham, Wiltshire.

Marriage

In 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth toured the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. During the visit, the Queen and Earl Mountbatten asked Philip to escort the King's two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, who were Philip's third cousins through Queen Victoria, and second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark. Elizabeth fell in love with Philip and they began to exchange letters. Eventually, in the summer of 1946, Philip asked the King for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King granted his request providing any formal engagement was delayed until Elizabeth's twenty-first birthday the following April. In the meantime, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles, as well as his allegiance to the Greek crown, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and became a naturalised British subject, all of which was done by 18 March 1947. Philip adopted the surname ''Mountbatten'' from his mother's family. The engagement was announced to the public on 10 July 1947. The day preceding his wedding, King George VI bestowed the style ''His Royal Highness'' on Philip, and on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the ''Duke of Edinburgh'', ''Earl of Merioneth'', and ''Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in the County of London''.

Philip and Elizabeth were married in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, recorded and broadcast by BBC radio to 200 million people around the world. However, in post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for any of the Duke of Edinburgh's German relations to be invited to the wedding, including Philip's three surviving sisters, all of whom had married German princes, some of them with Nazi connections. After their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh took up residence at Clarence House. Their first two children were born: Prince Charles in 1948 and Princess Anne in 1950.

Philip was keen to pursue his naval career, though aware that his wife's future role as queen would eventually eclipse his ambitions. Nevertheless, Philip returned to the navy after his honeymoon, at first in a desk job at the Admiralty, and later on a staff course at the Naval Staff College, Greenwich. From 1949, he was stationed in Malta, after being posted as the First Lieutenant of the destroyer HMS ''Chequers'', the lead ship of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet. In July 1950, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and given command of the frigate HMS ''Magpie''. He was promoted to commander in 1952, but his active naval career ended in July 1951.

With the King in ill health, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were each appointed to the Privy Council on 4 November 1951 (making the Duke now the only remaining member of the council to have been appointed by George VI), after having made a coast to coast tour of Canada. At the end of January the following year, Philip and his wife set out on a tour of the Commonwealth. On 6 February 1952, when they were in Kenya, Elizabeth's father died and she ascended the throne. It was Philip who broke the news of her father's death to Elizabeth at Sagana Lodge, and the royal party immediately returned to the United Kingdom.

Consort of the Queen

Royal house

The accession of Elizabeth to the throne brought up the question of the name of the royal house. The Duke's uncle, Louis Mountbatten, advocated the name ''House of Mountbatten'', as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name on marriage; however, when Queen Mary, Elizabeth's paternal grandmother, heard of this suggestion, she informed the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who himself later advised the Queen to issue a royal proclamation declaring that the royal house was to remain known as the House of Windsor. The Duke privately complained, "I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."

In 1960, several years after the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Churchill, the Queen issued an Order in Council declaring that the surname of male-line descendants of the Duke and the Queen who are not styled as ''Royal Highness'', or titled as Prince or Princess, was to be ''Mountbatten-Windsor''. In practice, the Duke's children have all used Mountbatten-Windsor as a surname when not using a name derived from their highest titles (i.e., Wales, York, or Wessex); similarly, his male-line grandchildren use names derived from these titles.

After her accession to the throne, the Queen also announced that the Duke was to have "place, pre-eminence and precedence" next to her "on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament". This meant the Duke took precedence over his son, the Prince of Wales, except, officially, in the British parliament. In fact, however, he attends Parliament only when escorting the Queen for the annual State Opening of Parliament, where he walks and sits beside her.

Duties and milestones

As consort to the Queen, Philip supported his wife in her new duties as Sovereign, accompanying her to ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament in various countries, state dinners, and tours abroad. As Chairman of the Coronation Commission, he was the first member of the royal family to fly in a helicopter, visiting the troops that were to take part in the ceremony. Philip was not crowned in the service, but knelt before Elizabeth, with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her "liege man of life and limb". In the early 1950s, his sister-in-law, Princess Margaret, considered marrying a divorced older man, Peter Townsend. The press accused Philip of being hostile to the match. "I haven't done anything," he complained. Philip had not interfered, preferring to stay out of other people's love lives. Eventually, Margaret and Townsend parted. For six months over 1953–54 Philip and Elizabeth toured the Commonwealth; again their children were left in the United Kingdom.

In 1956, the Duke founded the Duke of Edinburgh's Award with Kurt Hahn, in order to give young people "a sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities". From 1956 to 1957, Philip travelled around the world aboard the newly commissioned HMY ''Britannia'', during which he opened the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and visited the Antarctic. The Queen and the children remained in the UK. On the return leg of the journey, Philip's private secretary, Mike Parker, was sued for divorce by his wife. As with Townsend, the press still portrayed divorce as a scandal, and eventually Parker resigned. He later said that the Duke was very supportive and "the Queen was wonderful throughout. She regarded divorce as a sadness, not a hanging offence." Further press reports claimed that the Queen and the Duke were drifting apart, which enraged the Duke and dismayed the Queen, who issued a strongly worded denial. In a show of public support, the Queen created Parker a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. On 22 February 1957, she granted her husband the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom by Letters Patent, restoring the princely status that he had formally renounced ten years earlier. On the same date, it was gazetted that he was to be known as "His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh".

Philip was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on 14 October 1957, taking his Oath of Allegiance before the Queen in person at her Canadian residence, Rideau Hall. Visiting Canada in 1969, Philip spoke about his views on republicanism: Philip is patron of some 800 organisations, particularly focused on the environment, industry, sport, and education. He served as UK President of the World Wildlife Fund from 1961 to 1982, International President from 1981 and President Emeritus from 1996. He is patron of The Work Foundation, was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1964 to 1986, and has served as Chancellor of the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Salford, and Wales.

At the beginning of 1981, Philip wrote to his eldest son, Charles, counselling him to make up his mind to either propose to Lady Diana Spencer, or break off their courtship. Charles felt pressured by his father to make a decision, and did so, proposing to Diana in February. They married six months later.

By 1992, the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales had broken down. The Queen and Philip hosted a meeting between Charles and Diana, trying to get them reconciled but without success. Philip wrote to Diana, expressing his disappointment at both Charles's and her extra-marital affairs, and asking her to examine both his and her behaviour from the other's point of view. The Duke was direct, and Diana was sensitive. She found the letters hard to take, but she nevertheless appreciated that he was acting with good intent. Charles and Diana separated and later divorced.

A year after the divorce, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. At the time, the Duke was on holiday at Balmoral with the extended royal family. In their grief, Diana's two sons, Princes William and Harry, wanted to attend church, and so their grandparents took them that morning. For five days, the Queen and the Duke shielded their grandsons from the ensuing press interest by keeping them at Balmoral where they could grieve in private. The Royal Family's seclusion caused public dismay, but the public mood was transformed from hostility to respect by a live broadcast made by the Queen on 5 September. Uncertain as to whether they should walk behind her coffin during the funeral procession, Diana's sons hesitated. Philip told William, "If you don't walk, I think you'll regret it later. If I walk, will you walk with me?" On the day of the funeral, Philip, William, Harry, Charles and Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, walked through London behind her bier.

Over the next few years Mohammed Al-Fayed, whose son Dodi Fayed was also killed in the crash, claimed that Prince Philip had ordered the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and that the accident was staged. The inquest into Diana's death concluded in 2008 that there was no evidence of a conspiracy.

Later life to present

During the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002, the Duke was commended by the Speaker of the British House of Commons for his role in supporting the Queen during her reign. The Duke of Edinburgh's time as royal consort exceeds that of any other consort in British history; however, his mother-in-law, who died aged 101, was the consort with the longest lifespan.

In April 2008, Philip was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital for "assessment and treatment" for a chest infection, though he walked into the hospital unaided and recovered quickly, and was released three days later to recuperate at Windsor Castle. In August the same year, the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper reported that Philip was suffering from prostate cancer. Buckingham Palace, which usually refuses to comment on rumours of ill health, claimed that the report was an invasion of privacy. Unusually, Philip authorised a statement denying the story. The newspaper retracted the report, and admitted it was untrue.

In June 2011, in an interview marking the occasion of his 90th birthday he said that he would now slow down and reduce his duties, stating that he had "done [his] bit". While staying at the royal residence at Sandringham, Norfolk, on 23 December 2011, the Duke suffered chest pains and was taken to the cardio-thoracic unit at Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, where he underwent successful coronary angioplasty and stenting. He was discharged on 27 December.

The record for the longest-lived male member of the British Royal Family is currently held by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn who lived to be 91 years, 8 months and 15 days old. Prince Philip will surpass this record if he is still living on 25 February 2013.

Personality and image

Philip played polo until 1971, when he started to compete in carriage driving, a sport which he helped expand; the early rule book was drafted under his supervision. He was a keen yachtsman, striking up a friendship in 1949 with Uffa Fox in Cowes. He and the Queen regularly attended Cowes Week in ''HMY Britannia''. His first airborne flying lesson took place in 1952; by his 70th birthday he had accrued 5,150 pilot hours. He has painted with oils, and collected artworks, including contemporary cartoons, which hang at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House, and Balmoral Castle. Hugh Casson described Philip's own artwork as "exactly what you'd expect ... totally direct, no hanging about. Strong colours, vigorous brushstrokes."

In 1979, when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were guests of President Carter, Prince Philip was approached by White House butler Lynwood Westray and another unnamed butler:

"Your majesty, would you like a cordial?" Westray asked him. "I'll take one if you'll let me serve you," Prince Philip responded. "Oh my God, this had never happened before," said Westray. "There we were standing there. I was holding the glasses and my buddy was holding the liqueurs and we looked at each other, and I said 'If that's the only way you'll have it, we'll go along with it.' And the prince served us what he was having, and the three of us had a drink and a conversation. It was an honour to let him do it."

Over his sixty years as royal consort, Philip became famous for making remarks which some people regarded as offensive and/or based on stereotypes. Some of them were immediately interpreted as gaffes; but other awkward observations were construed as merely odd, off-colour, and often funny. In his own words, comments attributed to Prince Philip have contributed to the perception that he is "a cantankerous old sod". The historian David Starkey has described him as a kind of " H.R.H Victor Meldrew". For example, in May 1999 British newspapers accused Philip of insulting deaf children at a pop concert in Wales by saying, "No wonder you are deaf listening to this row." Later Philip wrote, "the story is largely invention. It so happens that my mother was quite seriously deaf and I have been Patron of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf for ages, so it's hardly likely that I would do any such thing." During a state visit to the People's Republic of China in 1986, in a private conversation with British students from Xian's North West University, Philip joked, "If you stay here much longer, you'll go slit-eyed." The British press reported on the remark as indicative of racial intolerance, but the Chinese authorities were unconcerned. Chinese students studying in the UK, an official explained, were often told in jest not to stay away too long, lest they go "round-eyed". His comment had no effect on Sino-British relations, but it shaped his own reputation.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Philip has held a number of titles throughout his life. Originally holding the title and style of a prince of Greece and Denmark, Philip renounced these royal titles before his marriage, and was thereafter created a British duke, among other noble titles. It was not, however, until the Queen issued Letters Patent in 1957 that Philip was again titled as a prince. When in conversation with the Duke of Edinburgh, the practice is to initially address him as ''Your Royal Highness'' and thereafter as ''Sir''.

Honours and honorary military appointments

Upon his wife's accession to the throne in 1952, the Duke of Edinburgh was appointed Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Colonel-in-Chief of the British Army Cadet Force, and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps. The following year, he was appointed to the equivalent positions in Canada, and made Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal, and Marshal of the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. Subsequent military appointments were made throughout the Commonwealth. To celebrate his 90th birthday, the Queen appointed him Lord High Admiral of the Royal Navy (the highest rank in the organisation anyone other than the sovereign can hold) and to the highest ranks available in each branch of the Canadian Forces: honorary Admiral of the Maritime Command (now the Royal Canadian Navy) and General of the Land Force Command (now the Canadian Army) and Air Command (now the Royal Canadian Air Force).

Before he became consort, the Duke was appointed to the Order of the Garter on 19 November 1947. Since then, Philip has received 17 different appointments and decorations in the Commonwealth, and 48 by foreign states. The inhabitants of some small villages in Vanuatu also worship Prince Philip as a god; the islanders possess portraits of the Duke and hold feasts on his birthday.

Arms

Notes	Following his marriage to Princess Elizabeth until 1949, Prince Philip's arms featured a differenced version of the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, derived from his ancestor Princess Alice. Unlike the arms used by other members of the Royal Family, the Duke's arms no longer features the royal arms of the United Kingdom, as men are not entitled to bear the arms of their wives. However they do feature elements representing Greece and Denmark, from which he is descended in the male line; the Mountbatten family arms, from which he is descended in the female line; and the City of Edinburgh.
Year adopted	19 November 1947
Escutcheon	From 1949: Quarterly: First Or, semée of hearts Gules, three lions passant in pale Azure (For Denmark), Second Azure, a cross Argent (For Greece), Third Argent, two pallets Sable (For Battenberg or Mountbatten), Fourth Argent, upon a rock Proper a castle triple towered Sable, masoned Argent, windows, port, turret-caps and vanes Gules (For Edinburgh), the whole surrounded by the Garter.
Helm	Upon a coronet of a son of the sovereign Proper, the royal helm Or
Crest	Issuant from a ducal coronet Or, a plume of five ostrich feathers alternately Sable and Argent;
Torse	Mantling Or and ermine
Supporters	Dexter, a representation of Hercules girt about the loins with a lion skin, crowned with a chaplet of oak leaves, holding in the dexter hand a club Proper (from Greek royal coat of arms); sinister, a lion queue fourchée ducally crowned Or and gorged with a naval coronet Azure;
Motto	God is my help
Orders	The Order of the Garter ribbon.Honi soit qui mal y pense''(Shame be to him who thinks evil of it)''
Banner	A banner of the Duke's arms is used as his personal standard.
Symbolism	The arms of Denmark and Greece, represent the Duke of Edinburgh's familial lineage. The arms of the City of Edinburgh represent Philip's dukedom. The naval crown collar alludes to the Duke's naval career.
Previous versions	From 1947 to 1949 "Arms of Greece surmounted by an inescutcheon of the arms of Denmark; and over all in the first quarter the arms of Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria, viz, the Royal Arms differenced with a label of three points argent, the middle point charged with a rose gules and each of the others with an ermine spot. The shield is encircled by the Garter and ensigned with a princely coronet of crosses pattée and fleurs-de-lis, above which is placed a barred helm affronte, and thereon the crest; out of a ducal coronet or, a plume of five ostrich feathers alternately sable and argent. The supporters are, dexter, the figure of Hercules proper, and sinister, a lion queue fourche ducally crowned or, gorged with a naval coronet azure." }}

Issue

29 July 1981<Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall rowspan="3" rowspan="2">Mark PhillipsTimothy Laurence 19 February 1960 10 March 1964

Name	Marriage !! Children !! Grandchildren
rowspan="2">Charles, Prince of Wales	14 November 1948	Divorced 28 August 1996	|	Diana, Princess of Wales>Lady Diana Spencer	Prince William, Duke of CambridgePrince Harry of Wales
9 April 2005		Camilla Parker Bowles ||
rowspan="3">Anne, Princess Royal	15 August 1950 ||	14 November 1973<	Divorced 28 April 1992	Captain Mark Phillips ||	Peter Phillips	Savannah Phillips
	Zara Phillips
12 December 1992	Sir Timothy Laurence ||
Prince Andrew, Duke of York	|	23 July 1986Divorced 30 May 1996	Sarah, Duchess of York>Sarah Ferguson	Princess Beatrice of YorkPrincess Eugenie of York
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex	|	19 June 1999	Sophie, Countess of Wessex>Sophie Rhys-Jones	Lady Louise WindsorJames, Viscount Severn

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |2= 2. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark |3= 3. Princess Alice of Battenberg |4= 4. George I of Greece |5= 5. Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia |6= 6. Prince Louis of Battenberg |7= 7. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine |8= 8. Christian IX of Denmark |9= 9. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel |10= 10. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia |11= 11. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg |12= 12. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine |13= 13. Countess Julia Hauke |14= 14. Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine |15= 15. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom |16= 16. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |17= 17. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel |18= 18. Prince William of Hesse-Kassel |19= 19. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark |20= 20. Nicholas I of Russia |21= 21. Princess Charlotte of Prussia |22= 22. Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg |23= 23. Duchess Amelia of Württemberg |24= 24. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine |25= 25. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden |26= 26. Count John Maurice Hauke |27= 27. Sophie de la Fontaine |28= 28. Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine |29= 29. Princess Elisabeth of Prussia |30= 30. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |31= 31. Victoria of the United Kingdom }}

Philip is currently the oldest living great-great grandchild of Queen Victoria, as well as her second-oldest living descendant after Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg. As such, he is in the line of succession to the thrones of 16 countries.

In July 1993, through mitochondrial DNA analysis of a sample of Prince Philip's blood, British scientists were able to confirm the identity of the remains of several members of Empress Alexandra of Russia's family, several decades after their 1918 massacre by the Bolsheviks. Prince Philip was then one of two living great-grandchildren ''in the female line'' of Alexandra's mother Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the other being his sister Sophie, who died in 2001.

Fictional portrayals

Actor James Cromwell portrayed Prince Philip in the Academy Award-winning film ''The Queen'' (2006).

David Threlfall played him in a TV movie, ''The Queen's Sister'' (2005).

Stewart Granger played him in ''The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana'' (1982).

A fictionalised Philip (in his capacity as a World War II naval officer) is a minor character in John Birmingham's ''Axis of Time'' series of alternate history novels. Prince Philip also appears as a fictional character in Nevil Shute's novel ''In the Wet'' (1952).

Prince Philip is a minor character in Paul Gallico's novel ''Mrs. 'Arris Goes To Moscow,'' in which Mrs. Ada Harris, the main character, whom Soviet bureaucrats have caused to be called "Lady Ada Harris Char," confesses her true identity of Ada Harris of Battersea, whose work is "charring," or house-cleaning on daily hire, to him.

Prince Philip is a minor character in Tom Clancy's novel ''Patriot Games.''

The satirical British television series ''Spitting Image'' regularly featured a Prince Philip puppet, always dressed in naval uniform. His voice was provided by Roger Blake, who reprised the role in Alistair McGowan's regal parody of ''The Royle Family'' within his show ''The Big Impression''.

Bibliography

''Selected Speeches – 1948–55'' (1957)

''Selected Speeches – 1956–59'' (1960)

''Birds from Britannia'' (1962) (published in the United States as ''Seabirds from Southern Waters'')

''Wildlife Crisis'' with James Fisher (1970)

''The Environmental Revolution: Speeches on Conservation, 1962–1977'' (1978)

''Competition Carriage Driving'' (1982) (published in France 1984, second edition 1984, revised edition 1994)

''A Question of Balance'' (1982)

''Men, Machines and Sacred Cows'' (1984)

''A Windsor Correspondence'' with Michael Mann (1984)

''Down to Earth: Collected Writings and Speeches on Man and the Natural World 1961–87'' (1988) (paperback edition 1989, Japanese edition 1992)

''Survival or Extinction: A Christian Attitude to the Environment'' with Michael Mann (1989)

''Driving and Judging Dressage'' (1996)

''Thirty Years On, and Off, the Box Seat'' (2004)

Forewords to:

''The Concise British Flora in Colour'' by William Keble Martin, Ebury Press/ Michael Joseph (1965)

''Kurt Hahn'' by Hermann Röhrs and Hilary Tunstall-Behrens (1970)

''The Art of Driving'' by Max Pape (1982)

''National Maritime Museum Guide to Maritime Britain'' by Keith Wheatley, (2000)

''1953: The Crowning Year of Sport'' by Jonathan Rice, (2003)

''British Flags and Emblems'' by Graham Bartram, Tuckwell Press (2004)

''Chariots of War'' by Robert Hobson, Ulric Publication (2004)

Notes

References

Bibliography

Brandreth, Gyles (2004). ''Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage''. London: Century. ISBN 0-7126-6103-4

Heald, Tim (1991). ''The Duke: A Portrait of Prince Philip''. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-54607-7

Lacey, Robert (2002) ''Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II'', London: Little, Brown, ISBN 0-316-85940-0

Vickers, Hugo (2000). ''Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece''. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-241-13686-5

External links

Official website of the British Monarchy: The Duke of Edinburgh

Duke of Edinburgh Award

In the Words of Prince Philip – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

{{S-ttl|title=Consort to the British monarch |years=6 February 1952 – present}} {{S-ttl|title=Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire |years=24 March 1953 – present}} {{S-ttl|title=Lord High Admiral |years=10 June 2011 – present}} in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland

Category:1921 births Category:Living people Category:People from Corfu Category:Immigrants to the United Kingdom Category:British people of German descent Category:British people of Danish descent Category:British people of Russian descent Category:British people of Greek descent Category:British royal consorts Category:Danish princes Category:Greek princes Category:Princes of the United Kingdom 301 Category:House of Windsor Category:House of Battenberg Category:House of Glücksburg (Greece) Category:Monarchy in Australia Category:Monarchy in Canada Category:Monarchy in New Zealand Category:Knights of the Garter Category:Knights of the Thistle Category:Members of the Order of Merit Category:Recipients of the Royal Victorian Chain Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Category:Companions of the Order of Australia Category:Companions of the Queen's Service Order Category:Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Redeemer Category:Recipients of the Order of George I with Swords Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Category:Collars of the Order of Saints George and Constantine Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Category:Recipients of the Order of the Condor of the Andes Category:Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Recipients of the War Cross (Greece) Category:Knights of the Elephant Category:Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St. Olav Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Category:Recipients of the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero Category:Recipients of the Order of the Seraphim Category:Order of the Queen of Sheba Category:Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Category:Commanders Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland Category:Recipients of the Order of Independence Category:Knights Grand Band of the Order of the Star of Africa Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sun (Peru) Category:Collars of the Order of Merit (Chile) Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Southern Cross Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Category:Recipients of the Order of the Aztec Eagle Category:Recipients of the Order of the Supreme Sun Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Chrysanthemum‎ Category:Recipients of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Category:Recipients of the Order of the Yugoslav Star Category:Order of the Leopard Category:Grand Collars of the Order of Prince Henry Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Tower and Sword Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Charles III Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Category:Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Category:Lords of the Admiralty Category:Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II Category:Royal Marines generals Category:British Field Marshals Category:Marshals of the Royal Air Force Category:Field Marshals of Australia Category:Recipients of the Canadian Forces Decoration Category:Royal Australian Air Force air marshals Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada Category:Royal Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Category:Chancellors of the University of Edinburgh Category:Honorary Fellows of University College, Oxford Category:Old Gordonstounians Category:British Anglicans Category:Converts to Anglicanism from Eastern Orthodoxy Category:Deified people Category:Vanuatu mythology Category:British environmentalists Category:Chartered designers Category:Oceanian deities Category:Presidents of the Football Association Category:Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Category:Presidents of the Zoological Society of London Category:Chancellors of the University of Salford

af:Prins Philip, Hertog van Edinburg ar:فيليب دوق إدنبرة az:Filip Mauntbetten bcl:Prinsipe Felipe bg:Филип, херцог на Единбург bs:Filip, vojvoda od Edinburgha ca:Felip d'Edimburg cs:Princ Philip, vévoda z Edinburghu da:Prins Philip, hertug af Edinburgh de:Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh et:Prints Philip, Edinburghi hertsog el:Φίλιππος, Δούκας του Εδιμβούργου es:Felipe de Edimburgo fa:شاهزاده فیلیپ، دوک ادینبرا fr:Philip Mountbatten gd:Prionnsa Philip, Diùc Dhùn Èideann gl:Filipe de Edimburgo ko:에든버러 공작 필립 hy:Արքայազն Ֆիլիպ hr:Filip, vojvoda od Edinburgha id:Pangeran Philip, Adipati Edinburgh it:Filippo di Edimburgo he:פיליפ, דוכס אדינבורו ka:ფილიპე, ედინბურგის ჰერცოგი la:Princeps Philippus, dux Edimburgi lv:Princis Filips lt:Princas Filipas hu:Fülöp edinburgh-i herceg mk:Принц Филип (војвода од Единбург) ms:Putera Philip, Duke Edinburgh nl:Philip Mountbatten ja:フィリップ (エディンバラ公) no:Philip, hertug av Edinburgh nn:Prins Philip, hertug av Edinburgh pl:Filip, książę Edynburga pt:Filipe, Duque de Edimburgo ro:Filip, Duce de Edinburgh ru:Филипп, герцог Эдинбургский si:ෆිලිප් කුමාරයා simple:Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh sr:Принц Филип, војвода од Единбурга fi:Prinssi Philip, Edinburghin herttua sv:Prins Philip, hertig av Edinburgh tl:Prinsipe Philip, Duke ng Edinburgh ta:எடின்பரோ கோமகன், இளவரசர் பிலிப் th:เจ้าชายฟิลิป ดยุกแห่งเอดินบะระ tr:Philip Mountbatten vi:Ông hoàng Philip, Công tước xứ Edinburgh zh:菲利普亲王 (爱丁堡公爵)

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 *

af:Prins William, Hertog van Cambridge ar:ويليام دوق كامبريدج an:Guillén de Cambridge az:Uels Şahzadəsi Uilyam bn:প্রিন্স উইলিয়াম, ডিউক অফ কেমব্রিজ be:Прынц Уільям, герцаг Кембрыджскі bcl:Prinsipe William kan Wales bs:William, vojvoda od Cambridgea bg:Уилям, Херцог на Кеймбридж ca:Guillem de Cambridge cs:Princ William, vévoda z Cambridge cy:Y Tywysog William, Dug Caergrawnt da:Prins William, hertug af Cambridge de:William Mountbatten-Windsor, Duke of Cambridge et:William, Cambridge'i hertsog el:Πρίγκιπας Ουίλιαμ, Δούκας του Κέμπριτζ es:Guillermo de Cambridge eo:William Mountbatten-Windsor eu:Gilen Cambridgekoa fa:شاهزاده ویلیام، دوک کمبریج fr:William de Cambridge ga:William, prionsa na Breataine Bige gl:Guillerme de Cambridge ko:케임브리지 공작 윌리엄 hy:Արքայազն Ուիլյամ hr:William, vojvoda od Cambridgea ilo:Guillermo De Gales id:Pangeran William, Adipati Cambridge is:Vilhjálmur Bretaprins it:William, duca di Cambridge he:הנסיך ויליאם, דוכס קיימברידג' jv:William Arthur Philip Louis la:Gulielmus Cambriae lv:Princis Viljams, Kembridžas hercogs lt:Princas Viljamas hu:Vilmos cambridge-i herceg mk:Вилијам (војвода од Кембриџ) mr:केंब्रिजचा ड्यूक विल्यम ms:Putera William, Duke Cambridge mn:Кембрижийн гүн, Хунтайж Уильям my:ဝီလီယံ မင်းသား nah:Tlahtohcāpilli William of Wales mrj:Уильям (Кого Британин принц) nl:William, hertog van Cambridge ja:ウィリアム (ケンブリッジ公) no:William, hertug av Cambridge nn:Prins William, hertug av Cambridge oc:Guilhèm de Cambridge uz:Shahzoda William pnb:ولیم ماؤنٹبیٹن-ونڈسر pl:Wilhelm, książę Cambridge pt:Guilherme, Duque de Cambridge ro:Prințul William, Duce de Cambridge ru:Уильям, герцог Кембриджский se:William (Cambridgea herttot) sq:Princi Uilliam simple:Prince William, Duke of Cambridge sr:Принц Вилијам, војвода од Кембриџа fi:Prinssi William sv:Prins William, hertig av Cambridge ta:இளவரசர் வில்லியம், கேம்பிரிட்ச் கோமகன் th:เจ้าฟ้าชายวิลเลียม ดยุคแห่งเคมบริดจ์ tr:Cambridge Dükü, Prens William uk:Вільям, герцог Кембриджський vi:Hoàng tử William, Công tước Cambridge war:Prinsipe William han Wales zh-yue:威廉王子 diq:Şazadey Welsi Wilyam zh:威廉王子 (劍橋公爵)