| Name | Prince William |
|---|
| Imgw | 220 |
|---|
| Caption | Prince William on 12 June 2010. |
|---|
| House | House of Windsor |
|---|
| Full name | William Arthur Philip Louis|group=N|name=sur}} |
|---|
| titles =
HRH Prince William of Wales
| father =
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
| mother =
Diana, Princess of Wales
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| heightm = 1.95
| date of birth = June 21, 1982
| place of birth =
St Mary's Hospital, London
| date of christening = 4 August 1982
| place of christening =
Buckingham Palace, London
|}}
Prince William of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and grandson 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 16 independent states, although he is resident in, and most directly involved with, the United Kingdom, the oldest of these realms.
Following his education at numerous schools around the United Kingdom, obtaining a degree from the University of St Andrews, and spending parts of a gap year in Chile, Belize, and countries in Africa, William enrolled in the military. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry serving with his brother Prince Harry and, 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 child: 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 disc jockey for the local radio station. 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, 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
during
Trooping the Colour, 2007.]]
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. who had himself received his wings after training at the same college. 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, Later, in September, 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.
Sports
Prince 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.
Prince 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.
Relationship with Kate Middleton
During his years in university, Prince William participated in typical university life, going to bars and socialising with his friends; 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 and gossip, especially around his relationship with
Kate 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 two. Media attention became so intense that William had to make a specific request to the paparazzi that they keep their distance from Middleton and him. In March 2007, Middleton complained of media harassment by the
Daily Mirror. It was reported in April 2007 that the couple had split,
1 January 2008 1 January 2009:
Flying Officer,
Royal Air ForceHONI 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 =
|badge =
|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 =
}}
Ancestry
Through his maternal grandfather, Prince William is descended from Henry IV, Charles II and James II and VII. Should he become king, William will be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be descended from Charles I. Through his mother, William is of English descent and of remote Irish and Scottish descent. Through the Spencer family, he is also distantly related to several American presidents and British prime ministers.
Prince William is descended from all kings and queens of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom with surviving offspring from Harold II onwards except for these eighteen: Henry V,
Henry VI, Henry VIII (their lines are all extinct), Richard III, George IV, William IV (all of whom outlived their legitimate children), William II, Richard I, Richard II, Edward V, Edward VI, Jane, Mary I, Elizabeth I, William III, Mary II, Anne, and Edward VIII. He is also descended from many of the pre-Union monarchs of Scotland and the pre-Conquest monarchs of England. He is also descended from many notable foreign monarchs including, Peter I of Russia ("Peter the Great"), Catherine II of Russia ("Catherine the Great"), George I of Greece, Christian IX of Denmark, Afonso I of Portugal, Andrew II of Hungary, Ferdinand II of Aragon, Isabella I of Castile, and early French kings.
He and his brother are also descended from Caterina Sforza, an Italian noblewoman who had trouble with the Borgia (Pope Alexander IV's family), via their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
See also
Royal William, a German red rose named after Prince William shortly after his birth.
British prince
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:Living people
Category:People from London
Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family
Category:Princes of the United Kingdom
Category:Old Etonians
Category:Old Ludgrovians
Category:Sandhurst graduates
Category:Blues and Royals officers
Category:Royal Air Force officers
Category:Royal Navy officers
Category:English Anglicans
Category:English polo players
Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Category:Presidents of the Football Association
Category:Knights of the Garter
Category:People from Paddington
