Prince William life and biography

Born Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor, on June 21, 1982, the eldest son of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Charles, Prince of Wales. His official title is His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.

William attended Mrs. Mynor's Nursery school in West London (1985-87), Wetherby School in Kensington, London (1987-90), and Ludgrove School in Wokingham (1990-95). In 1995 at the urging of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William (nicknamed "Wills") entered Eton College, one of England's most prestigious secondary schools. A serious student with excellent grades, he also excelled in sports at Eton, particularly swimming. With his father and brother, he enjoys outdoor sports including riding, skiing, shooting and fishing.

As he is directly in line to the British throne after his father, Charles, he spends a good deal of time with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, who is very concerned with his upbringing and career development.

Affected by both his parents' divorce in 1996 and his mother's tragic death in 1997, the tall and handsome young William has publicly stated his dislike for the press, and seems uncomfortable with the growing attention he is getting from love-struck adolescent girls. William gives the impression of being a well-mannered, responsible and mature young man who shows a strong sense of duty and loyalty to the royal family, fully aware of the role he is to play in the future as the King of England.

Upon his graduation from Eton, William took a break from his studies to visit South America and Africa. He then attended Scotland's St. Andrew's University, where he received a degree in geography in 2005. Following in the footsteps of his younger brother, Prince Harry, William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a military cadet and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry in December 2006. In 2008, he was appointed to be a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. He is now training to be a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.

Along with his military career, William supports numerous charities, including serving as patron to Centrepoint, an organization for homeless youth, and the Tusk Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of African wildlife. In 2007, William and his brother Harry are hosting a special concert to celebrate their late mother and raise funds for charities that Princess Diana supported during her life as well as charities supported by the princes.

As the future king of England, William's personal life has been the subject of much media attention. He had been romantically linked to Kate Middleton; the couple met while attending St. Andrew's University. Rumors of a possible engagement swirled around the pair for months, but to the surprise of royal watchers, the couple announced that they were splitting up in April 2007. However, in the time since that announcement, Middleton has attended several public and official events, as well as traveled on vacation with Prince William. Speculation about a wedding engagement continues.

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 fulfillment 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 January 2010, Prince William toured Auckland and Wellington, on behalf of his grandmother in her role as Queen of New Zealand. As the Queen's representative, Prince William opened the new building of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. 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 the Prince's contribution.

Prince William plays polo both professionally and 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.

Also 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.

As a British prince, William does not use a surname for everyday purposes. For formal and ceremonial purposes, Prince William has used the name of the area over which his father holds title, i.e. Wales (as Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie use York, per their father, Prince Andrew, Duke of York). Past precedent is that such area-based surnames are dropped from usage in adulthood, after which either title alone or family surname is used. 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.

Should his father accede to the throne, William will immediately obtain the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay and it is expected that he would be invested as Prince of Wales, though the latter is not automatic. If Prince William succeeds to the throne and uses his first given name as his regnal name, he would be known as William V. Should he marry before the death of the Queen, it is customary for him to receive a dukedom.

Prince William succeeded Lord Attenborough in 2010 as the BAFTA Academy's fifth President.

Military ranks

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

Honours
Appointments

* United Kingdom(England & Wales only) 23 April 2008 – : Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
* United Kingdom 6 July 2009 – : Called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
* United Kingdom 6 July 2009 – : Called to the Bench by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple

Medals

* Flag of EIIR.svg 6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

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 their grandchild into the Order of the Garter was in 1894, when Queen Victoria invested Prince Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Honorary military appointments

Canada
* Canada 10 November 2009 – : Canadian Ranger

United Kingdom

* United Kingdom 3 October 2008 – : Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Coningsby
* United Kingdom 8 August 2006 – : Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Clyde
* United Kingdom 8 August 2006 – : Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy Submarine Service
* United Kingdom 8 August 2006 – : Commodore-in-Chief of Scotland

Honorific eponyms

* United Kingdom United Kingdom: Prince William School, Oundle, Northamptonshire

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