William, Prince of Wales
,
KG
,
KT
,
PC
,
ADC
(William Arthur Philip Louis; 21 June 1982) is a member of the
British royal family
and the
heir apparent
to the
British throne
. He is the oldest son of
Charles III
and the late
Diana, Princess of Wales
. He is the second-oldest grandson of
Queen Elizabeth II
, and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
. He is first in
line to the British throne
. He married Catherine Middleton, now
Catherine, Princess of Wales
, on 29 April 2011.
[3]
Before his wedding, Prince William was made
Duke of Cambridge
,
Earl of Strathearn
and
Baron Carrickfergus
.
[4]
[5]
Prince William was born at St Mary's Hospital in London. His father is
Charles III
. His mother was
Diana, Princess of Wales
. He is the third grandchild of Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
. His mother, Diana, tried to shield Prince William and his younger brother,
Prince Harry
, from the media.
William and Harry's parents, Diana and Charles, divorced in
1992
. The divorce was very controversial and the media was very interested in the personal lives of the royal family. In
1997
,
Diana died in a car crash
.
Prince William began learning at independent schools then Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he went to
Ludgrove School
, and, after passing the entrance exams, he went to
Eton College
, where he learnt geography, biology, and art history at
A-Level
.
At Eton, he took part in many sports including Football, basketball, and water polo. He then took a year away from education (a 'gap year') before going to the
University of St Andrews
. He graduated in 2004, with a degree in geography.
William graduated from the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
on 15 December 2006; the
graduation parade
was 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.
With his rank obtained, the Prince, using the name of William Wales, followed his younger brother
[6]
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
. He also learned to fly, and became a
RAF
Search and Rescue pilot.
On 16 November 2010, it was announced by
Clarence House
that William and
Catherine Middleton
were to marry. Catherine was a commoner (not royalty). The couple had met at
University of St Andrews
. Their engagement began on 16 November 2010. The wedding took place on 29 April 2011 in
Westminster Abbey
, London. That day was made a
bank holiday
in the UK. After the wedding, William and Catherine became known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
[7]
On 22 July 2013, Catherine gave birth to a baby boy. On 24 July, it was announced that the baby would be called
Prince George of Cambridge
, with the full given name of George Alexander Louis.
A daughter,
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
, was born on 2 May 2015. She was given the full name of Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.
On 23 April 2018,
a second son
was born. He was given the full name of Louis Arthur Charles.
Now that William is Prince of Wales his children are all known as Princes/ses "of Wales" rather than "of Cambridge".
In
2020
, his brother, Prince Harry decided to leave the royal family with his wife,
Meghan
. Since then, it has been reported that the relationship between William and Harry has been very tense.
Prince William has done many public duties for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and his father, King Charles III. William and Kate have visited many countries on behalf the royal family. In
2022
, they took a tour of the
Caribbean
Commonwealth realms
. The tour attracted a lot of criticism from protestors, who demanded that the royal family apologised for their involvement in
slavery
. William has also visited
Pakistan
,
Japan
,
America
and
Canada
.
As Duke of Cambridge he was second in line to the throne. When his grandmother died he became first in line (Duke of Cornwall) and the next day his father made him
Prince of Wales
.
Through his mother's line he is descended from numerous dukes. He is also a descendant of
Charles II of England
and
James II of England
. If he becomes King, he will be the first monarch descended from
Charles I of England
since Queen Anne. He is also related to King
Henry IV of England
, and Benejah Strong William’s 6th great grandfather, William’s Mother’s Mother’s Father’s Mother’s Mother’s Mother’s Father’s Father. Sir
Winston Churchill
is also distantly related to William.
- 21 June 1982- 29 April 2011: His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales
- 29 April 2011 His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge
- 8 September 2022 His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall
- In Scotland: His Royal Highness The Duke of Rothesay, His Royal Highness The Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Isles, Baron of Renfrew, His Royal Highness The Earl of Strathearn
- In Northern Ireland Baron of Carrickfergus
- 9 September 2022: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, His Royal Highness The Earl of Chester
- ↑
As a member of the Royal Family entitled to be called
His Royal Highness
, William does not normally use a surname. He has used both
Mountbatten-Windsor
,
[1]
and ? at university and in his military career ?
Wales
.
[2]
The middle name Louis is pronounced
.