Prince William of Wales
Life of Prince William of Wales: heir to throne
Prince William of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor; born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of The Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. He is second in the line of succession to the British throne and thrones of each of the other Commonwealth Realms. As the son of The Prince of Wales and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William is a member of the British Royal Family. He has recently graduated as an army officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and is due to enter the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry of the British Army like his younger brother Prince Harry. His official name as an army officer is 2nd Lieutenant William Wales.[1] He is 6ft 3in (1.90m) tall.[2]
Birth, family, and childhood
Prince William was born on 21 June 1982 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 was Diana, Princess of Wales, youngest daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer. As a 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 or Wills.
He was christened on his great-grandmother's 82nd birthday on 4 August 1982 in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie. His godparents are: King Constantine of Greece, Sir Laurens van der Post, Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Westminster, Lord Romsey and Lady Susan Hussey.
Through his grandfather on his mother's side, Prince William is descended from both the Duke of Grafton and the Duke of Richmond, two illegitimate sons of King Charles II of England and King James II of England, through an illegitimate daughter. William, should he become King, would be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be a direct descendent of Charles I of England.
He has a younger brother, Prince Harry. His father's second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is their stepmother, giving the princes a step-brother, Tom Parker Bowles, and step-sister, Laura Lopes.
First Official Engagement - Prince William
On 1 March 1991 (St. David's Day), Prince William made his first official public appearance during a visit to Cardiff, the capital city 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.
The prince has been a keen fan of Aston Villa F.C. since childhood.
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
On 31 August 1997, Prince William's mother, Diana, was killed in a car accident in Paris, France. Her death came days after she spent a holiday in southern France with both Prince William and Prince Harry. Both princes were staying with the Queen at Balmoral Castle at the time. Their father, Charles, woke them from their sleep to tell them the news.
At Diana's funeral, Prince William accompanied his father, brother, his grandfather Prince Philip and his uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer in a walk behind Diana's funeral cortege 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, before her death.
Education - Prince William
Prince William's 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, he also joined Fun With Music, a music appreciation class conducted by Ann Rachlin. 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 and history of art at A-level.
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 as a volunteer with Raleigh International. Pictures of the prince cleaning a toilet were broadcast around the world. [1]
Prince William at University of St Andrews
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 Art History, 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. 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. William joined his brother who had been there since May 2005.
Royal duties and career
In July 2005, William carried out his first official engagements representing Elizabeth II, 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. William's second work placement was with the HSBC Group in London.
William's first patronage was to the UK charity Centrepoint, [3] 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 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 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 Prince Charles, along with other members of the Royal Family and Kate Middleton, Prince William's current girlfriend. Prince William will officially receive his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant at a midnight ceremony on 15 December. Following the announcement in September, Prince William will follow his younger brother into the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) 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 and Prince William's new boss, indicated it was possible that the prince could be deployed to a conflict zone. There seems to be further proof as Prince Harry is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq in May of 2007.
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.
Girlfriends of Prince William
William's love life has been the subject of much conjecture. In 2006, the media began intensively reporting his long-term relationship with current girlfriend Kate Middleton, formerly one of his university flatmates, whom he began dating in 2004. There has been no statement from the Queen or Prince Charles regarding their views of the relationship or a possible marriage. However, Prince Charles has asked and warned the media to leave Middleton alone on numerous occasions.
Kate Middleton attended Prince William's passing out parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on December 15, 2006. That was the first occasion that Middleton has attended a high-profile public event as Prince William's guest. Middleton was accompanied by both her parents and the prince's private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton. It was reported by Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper, that she was invited by the Queen to Christmas lunch in 2006, which, would make her the first unmarried partner of a royal to be asked to the festive celebrations at the royal estate of Sandringham House near Sandringham, Norfolk. Middleton declined the offer, preferring to spend Christmas with her own family.
According to a 2006 December issue of People magazine, a palace spokeman stated that Middleton is not at this time being groomed nor being advised to be a future princess. The royal family would prefer to see Prince William take the relationship slowly and not rush into anything in order to avoid recreating another disastrous marriage. Prince William has stated he has no plans to marry in the near future. It is also to be noted that he has professional obligations, such as his military service, which would not be conducive to starting a family.
Article Source: Wikipedia
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