Popularly known as Prince William, Prince William of Wales
was born as William Arthur Philip Louis. Prince William was born on 21 June 1982.
William is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess
of Wales. He is second in the line of succession to the British throne and those
of each of the other Commonwealth Realms. He is also the President of The Football
Association and supports Aston Villa Football Club. As the son of the Prince of
Wales and the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
Prince William is a member of the British Royal Family.
Prince William is as of 2007 serving as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals regiment
of the British Army's Household Cavalry, together with his younger brother,
Prince Harry. Within his regiment, he is known as Cornet William Wales. In 2008,
Prince William was enrolled in the pilot training program at RAF Cranwell where he
is referred to as "Flying Officer Wales", using his father's geographical
name for his surname.
Prince William was born on 21 June 1982 (21:03) at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington,
West London, England. His father is Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest son
of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His mother is the
late Diana, Princess of Wales, youngest daughter of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer
and Frances Ruth Burke-Roche. As a male-line grandchild of the British monarch
and son of the Prince of Wales, he is styled "His Royal Highness Prince
William of Wales". As a child, he was affectionately called by his parents
Wombat, Camel, or Wills.
He was baptised by then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, on 4 August
1982, on the 82nd birthday of his paternal great grandmother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
the Queen Mother. The baptism took place in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.
His godparents are: former King Constantine II of Greece, Sir Laurens van der
Post, Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Westminster, Lord Brabourne and Lady
Susan Hussey.
Through his maternal grandfather, Prince William has descended from King Charles
II of England and King James II of England. Prince William, should he become King,
will be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be descended from Charles I of
England.
He has a younger brother, Prince Henry of Wales, born 15 September 1984, who
is third in line as the heir to the British throne.
On 1 March 1991 (Saint David's Day), Prince William made his first official
public appearance during a visit to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. After arriving
by plane, the eight-year-old prince was taken by his parents to Llandaff Cathedral.
After a tour of the cathedral, he signed its visitors' book, demonstrating that
he was left-handed. Photographs of the Prince taken during his visit are on
permanent display at the cathedral. On his departure, numerous school children
and local residents from the surrounding area presented gifts to him, which
he received with a smile and the whispered words "thank you".
On 3 June 1991, Prince William was admitted to the Royal Berkshire Hospital
after being hit on the side of the forehead by another pupil wielding a golf
club. The Prince did not lose consciousness, but suffered a depressed fracture
of the skull and was operated on at the Great Ormond Street Hospital. A slight
scar is still visible today.
On 31 August 1997 at 12:21 am, Prince William's mother, Diana, Princess of
Wales was killed in a car accident in Paris. Her death came days after she spent
a holiday in southern France with her boyfriend at that time Dodi Al-Fayed.
Both princes were staying with the Queen and their father at Balmoral Castle
at the time. Their father, Charles, waited until the early morning to tell them
the tragic news.
At his mother's funeral, Prince William accompanied his father, brother, his
grandfather Prince Philip and his uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer in
the funeral cortège from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. During
his eulogy, the Earl Spencer promised that the Spencer family would take an
active interest in looking after Diana's children, although William has seen
little of him since then and also had little contact with Frances Shand Kydd,
Diana's mother. It was said Prince William was very upset that his mother was stripped
of her title of HRH when she divorced.
Prince William attended independent schools in southern England. In his early
years he was a pupil at Mrs Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory
Wetherby School, both in West London. In 1987. Then, he attended Ludgrove School
in Berkshire, a preparatory school. After passing an entrance exam, he went on
to Eton College in Berkshire. Whilst there, he studied geography, biology, maths
and history of art at A-level. He was a keen football player and captained his
house team.
Like a growing number of British teenagers, Prince William chose to take a
gap year after finishing Eton College. He took part in a British Army training
exercise in Belize. He spent the final stage of his gap year in southern Chile
in a small town called Tortel. There, he was a guest rap DJ for the small radio
station, which he took much delight in doing. And he became as a volunteer with
Raleigh International. Pictures of the prince cleaning a toilet were broadcast
around the world.
After his gap year, Prince William attended the University of St Andrews in
Fife, Scotland from 2001, graduating in 2005. He embarked on a degree course
in History of Art, but later changed his main subject to Geography. William
earned a Scottish Master of Arts degree with upper-second class honours, the
highest academic achievement of any heir to the British and other Commonwealth
Realm thrones. He became the youngest British Royal to receive a bachelor's
degree in history. At St Andrews, the Prince used the name William Wales.
In January 2006, Prince William began his cadet course at the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst to train as an Army Officer, joining his brother who had been
there since May 2005. He passed out in December 2006, following his brother
into the Blues and Royals.
At the age of 21, as second in line to the throne, he became eligible to become
a Counsellor of State, and first served in that capacity when the Queen was
abroad on a state visit to Nigeria in 2003.
In July 2005, Prince William carried out his first official engagements representing
The Queen, as Queen of New Zealand, at World War II commemorations in New Zealand.
In the autumn of 2005, the prince took two work placements. He initially worked
in land management at Chatsworth House, a Peak District estate of the Duke of
Devonshire. Prince William's second work placement was with the HSBC Group in London.
Prince William's first patronage was to the UK charity Centrepoint, which works with
homeless young people. During his mother's patronage to the charity, William
would occasionally accompany her on visits. William is also patron of the Tusk
Trust, an African conservation charity based in the UK.
The prince has been the president of England's Football Association since May
2006. In August 2006 it was announced that he would become Vice Royal Patron
of the Welsh Rugby Union from February 2007, supporting his grandmother the
Queen, who is Patron of the WRU. In 2007 the WRU's decision to name a new cup
for test matches between Wales and South Africa the Prince William Cup caused
controversy, with many believing it would be more fitting to name the cup after
the late Ray Gravell, with thousands signing on-line petitions.
In August of 2006, the Queen appointed Prince William to two patronages of
the Royal Navy. William is Commodore-in-Chief for Scotland and Commodore-in-Chief
for submarines.
Like many of his predecessors, Prince William has chosen to serve in the British
Armed Forces. On 15 December 2006, Prince William graduated from the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). The passing out parade was attended by the Queen and
the Prince of Wales, along with other members of the Royal Family and Kate Middleton,
Prince William's girlfriend. Prince William officially received his commission
as a 2nd Lieutenant at a midnight ceremony on 15 December 2006. Following the
announcement in September, Prince William followed his younger brother into
the Blues and Royals as a troop leader. Prince William will now spend four months
at Bovington Camp in Dorset, training to become a troop commander in an armoured
reconnaissance unit.
Prince William and Prince Harry have both indicated that they would be prepared
to undertake active service. Given his position in the succession and the reluctance
of previous British governments to allow the heir to the throne to be put into
dangerous situations, it remains to be seen if this wish will be fully realised.
However, Major General Sebastian Roberts, general officer commanding the Household
Division, indicated it was possible that the prince could be deployed to a conflict
zone. However, Prince Harry's May 2007 deployment was cancelled because of "specific
threats".
Unlike Prince Harry, who will continue as a career soldier, Prince William
will go on to spend time with both the RAF and the Royal Navy to prepare him
for his future role. He will also increasingly carry out public engagements
in parallel to his military career.
Prince William has also reportedly expressed a desire to become the Governor
General of Australia. That such a desire should ever be fulfilled remains doubtful,
according to John Howard the former Prime Minister of Australia, 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 July 2007, Prince William represented the Royal Family when he opened the
21st World Scout Jamboree celebrating the centennial of the founding of the
Scout Movement.
On Saturday 6 October 2007, it was revealed that Prince William's former Platoon
Commander, Major Alexis Roberts, had been killed in Afghanistan, making Major
Roberts the most senior British officer to be killed since the beginning of
the conflict in 2001. Prince William was said to be "deeply saddened"
at the death of his former platoon commander.
In January 2008, Second Lieutenant Wales after only a year in the Blues and
Royals has embarked on attachment to the Royal Air Force, having completed his
first RAF pre-training flight which will then follow a 4-month pilot course
in which after he will be able to fly RAF aircraft. After completing his attachment
with the RAF the Prince will also go onto further secondment to the Royal Navy,
following in the footsteps of his father, Charles, Prince of Wales, who is able
to fly both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. William is thought to be taking
these attachments in order to prepare himself for any future career as Head
of the Armed Forces, when he becomes King.
William's private life has been the subject of much conjecture. In late 2005 the
media began intensively reporting his long-term relationship with girlfriend Kate
Middleton, formerly one of his university flatmates, whom he began dating in November
or December 2003. There was no statement from the Queen or the Prince of Wales
regarding their views of the relationship or a possible marriage.
Kate Middleton attended Prince William's passing out parade at the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. This was the first high-profile event
Middleton attended as Prince William's guest. She was accompanied by her parents
and the prince's private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton. Her dress was very
much in contrast to her modelling days in which she was clad in swimwear (causing
a slight dispute among the Royals).
On 14 April 2007 The Sun newspaper broke a 'world exclusive' suggesting that
Prince William and Kate 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 recent holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt.
A report in the Daily Mail blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to "hurry
along" a marriage announcement, and William's desire to enjoy his bachelor
status within his Army career. The Mail also suggested that William's friend
Guy Pelly encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships.
The same article suggested that Middleton had "expected too much"
in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.
In June 2007, the young couple attended a party at Lulworth army barracks together.
At the time Middleton and William insisted they were "just good friends"
following reports of a reconciliation. In July 2007 Middleton accepted an invitation
from William to attend the Concert for Diana, held at London's Wembley Stadium,
but they sat two rows apart. In August 2007 after the couple spent a week-long
holiday together on the isolated island of Desroche in the Seychelle Islands,
the BBC and the Daily Mail, among other news sources, stated that Prince William
and Ms. Middleton were reconciled and had resumed their relationship. In October
2007, Middleton flew to Scotland with William and they joined his father Prince
Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall for a shooting party on the Balmoral Estate.
Titles, Styles, Honours and Arms
Titles and Styles
* 21 June 1982-: His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales
Surname usage
Under an Order-in-Council in 1960, the non-titled descendants of Queen Elizabeth
and the Duke of Edinburgh were given the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, combining
the dynasty name of Elizabeth and the assumed surname of Philip. However, although
titled, the Queen's children have all decided to use the surname also in honour
of their father. For their banns for their first marriages, both William's aunt,
Anne, Princess Royal and his own father, Charles, Prince of Wales, used Mountbatten-Windsor
rather than Windsor. Mountbatten-Windsor is now treated as being the surname
of all descendants of the Queen and the Duke except those, like the children
of the Princess Royal, who have a new paternal surname (in that case, "Phillips").
As with Royal Family tradition, Prince William used "Wales" as a
last name during his years of education, as has Prince Harry. William's York
cousins in turn use "York" (other Royal Families also use their parents'
title as their own working surname). Past precedent, however, is that such title-surnames
are dropped from usage in adulthood, with either title alone or name and Mountbatten-Windsor
being used on legal documents and banns of marriage.
Future
Upon the presumed accession of his father to the throne, William will automatically
and immediately inherit the titles of Duke of Rothesay and Duke of Cornwall
and it is expected that he will be invested by the King as Prince of Wales,
although this is not automatic.
Should his father predecease the Queen, leaving William as first-in-line to
the throne, she may choose to create him Prince of Wales in his own right.
The issue of what title, if any, Prince William might receive prior to his
father's accession to the throne is vague - Buckingham Palace has refused to
speculate as to what title might be given to Prince William in the future -
however, since it is usual for a title to be awarded upon marriage, this is
not an imminent consideration. In the past, it would have been very likely that
he would be created a Royal Duke upon marriage, however, considering the move
in making The Prince Edward Earl of Wessex upon marriage (with the promise of
a Dukedom in the fullness of time), and the expectation that William will become
Prince of Wales in time, precedents of the past may no longer apply.
Regnal
As the eldest son of the current Prince of Wales, William is also expected
to ascend to the respective thrones of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth
realms. If William decides to use his first name as his regnal name, he would
be known as William V.
Honours
Military
* OCdt, January – December 2006: Officer Cadet, Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst
* Ct, December 2006 – : Cornet, The Blues and Royals
Honorary military appointments
* 8 August 2006 – : Commodore-in-Chief, Scotland
* 8 August 2006 – : Commodore-in-Chief, Submarines
Arms
On his 18th birthday, Prince William was granted his own personalized coat
of arms. His arms are those of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
with a label for difference: Quarterly (by quarters):
1st and 4th, Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or (England). (The
first and fourth quarters display the three lions, representing England).
2nd quarter is of a lion rampant within a Double Tressure floury counterflory
Gules (Scotland). (The second quarter, displays a red lion in a yellow field
with a double border coloured red, this represents Scotland).
3rd, Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland). (The third quarter shows a harp
against a blue background, this represents Ireland).
The whole distinguished by a Label of three points Argent the central point
charged with an Escallop Gules. The Escallop Gules is in reference to his late
mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, as the escallop appears in the Spencer coat
of arms. As the eldest son of the eldest son of the sovereign, his arms are
distinguished by a label of three points unlike the arms of other grandchildren
of the sovereign, which are distinguished by a label of five points.
Ancestry
Genealogists' results of his well-researched ancestry are presented at many
websites and the first four generations are given below. For further ancestry,
see Ancestors of Prince William of Wales at Genealogics.
Ancestry of Prince William
|
Prince William of Wales
House of Windsor
Cadet branch of the
House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Born:
21 June 1982
|
| British
Royalty |
Preceded by
Charles, Prince of Wales |
Line of succession
to the British Throne
2nd position |
Succeeded by
Prince Henry of Wales |
| Order of precedence in the United
Kingdom |
Preceded by
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex |
Gentlemen |
Succeeded by
Prince Henry of Wales |
Preceded by
Charles, Prince of Wales | Gentlemen
in current practice |
Succeeded by
Prince Andrew, Duke of York |
| Order of precedence |
Preceded by
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex |
Canadian order of precedence |
Succeeded by
Prince Henry of Wales |
