Prince WIlliam

Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born on June 21, 1982 at St Mary's Hospital in London. From the start his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, tried to give him as normal a life as possible. He was the first heir to the British throne to be born in a hospital, the first to wear disposable diapers, and the first to attend nursery school.

Of course, Prince William's childhood was anything but typical. At the age of five he told friends that he wasn't allowed to know the name of his school "for security reasons." He can't fly in the same plane as his father because an accident might take the lives of two future kings. Wherever Prince William goes, bodyguards (and photographers) are not far behind.

Prince William has one sibling, his brother Harry, who was born in 1984. It's said that they get along well together, and that William is very protective of his brother. In fact, William is said to get along well with everyone. His father had trouble fitting in at school and was cruelly hazed, but Prince William has always been popular with his classmates. His first school was Mrs. Mynors's Nursery School in London, which he attended for two years. Then he spent three years at Wetherby School, also in London. He proved to be good at reading, spelling and swimming (a sport his mother excelled at during her school years).

At first Prince William was a rambunctious little boy. The media gleefully reported his every misbehavior, from flushing his father's shoes down the toilet to fighting with a flower girl at his uncle Andrew's wedding. As he grew older he became more quiet and thoughtful. "That child is a deep thinker," Princess Diana once said. William still had a rebellious streak, however. After he slipped away from the security staff at Balmoral Castle for half an hour, he was given an electronic tracking bracelet.

At age eight Prince William was sent to Ludgrove, a boarding school, where he shared a room with four other boys. He spent five years there. During that time his parents separated. When they weren't at school William and Harry divided their time between Charles and Diana. The Prince and Princess of Wales were both reportedly warm parents, but Prince William was especially close to his mother. Princess Diana broke royal protocol by hugging the boys in public and taking them to amusement parks and McDonald's Prince Charles showed his sons no affection in public except on one occasion when he paused during a polo match to pat their heads. He was often elsewhere when Diana visited the boys at school or took them on vacations. This was in keeping with the stiffly proper way Charles himself had been brought up.

The contrast between Charles and Diana's attitude toward their sons was never more apparent than when Prince William was accidentally struck on the head by a golf club. Both parents rushed to William's side and accompanied him to the hospital, where Prince William was diagnosed with a depressed fracture of the skull. Diana remained at the hospital as Prince William underwent surgery - but Charles left to attend an opera. The next day Princess Diana was still at the hospital with her recuperating son, while Charles was attending environmental conference. This made perfect sense to Charles and his advisors; Prince William was in no danger, and Charles's engagements are scheduled months, even years in advance.

At Ludgrove Prince William proved to be an excellent athlete. He was on the school soccer, basketball, and swimming teams, and became captain of hockey and rugby teams. He also participated in clay pigeon shooting and cross country running. Another of his interests was acting; he appeared in several school plays and said in 1993 that he would like to become a professional actor.

Dreamboat Willy
In 1995 Prince William left Ludgrove and entered exclusive Eton College. He lived with some 50 other students in an ivy-covered dorm called Manor House, where he had a small room to himself above the kitchen. He was the only student with a private bathroom. But he had to follow the same rules as everyone else (no posters allowed on his bedroom walls, for example) and wear the same uniform (striped pants and a tailcoat). On his school track and bathing suits were the initials W.O.W., for William of Wales. He was chosen to be the co-captain of his swim team during his last year at Eton.

The other students sometimes teased him about his sex symbol status, whistling at him and calling him Dreamboat Willy, which was said to embarrass him. He was allowed to attend teen discos, where upper-class girls approached him offering to "snog" (kiss). Prince William supposedly refused these offers politely.

It was widely reported that Prince William was allowed to attend clubs and discos if he obeyed the following rules set down for him by the queen:

No smoking, alcohol, or drugs.
No kissing girls in public.
Avoid being photographed by the media.
Arrive and leave with royal aides.
Be accompanied by detectives and a trustworthy friend.
Get permission to attend the party, and be home on time.

In August of 1996 Prince Charles and Princess Diana were divorced. Prince William's housemaster at Eton, Dr. Andrew Gailey, is said to have helped William deal with the blow. Unfortunately, a worse blow was to follow.

On August 31, 1997 Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Prince William helped to plan his mother's unusual funeral. It was his idea for Diana's friend Elton John to sing "Candle in the Wind." Prince William walked in the funeral procession with his father, brother, uncle (Charles Spencer), and grandfather (Prince Philip).

After Diana's death Prince Charles made an effort to spend more time with his children. Prince William could also turn for support to Prime Minister Tony Blair; family friend Tiggy Legge-Bourke Pettifer, who had her own room in Charles's five-bedroom home, York House; his cousin, Peter Phillips; and other, less famous friends.

During his years at Eton, Prince William often visited his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II on the weekends at Windsor Castle, a short walk away. His grandfather, Prince Philip, sometimes took him duck hunting. After William's mother died he spoke frequently with her sisters, Jane and Sarah, but it is reported that he has little contact with the Spencer family these days. Prince William's favorite memento of his mother is her Cartier watch.

Prince William Grows Up
In 2000, Prince William graduated from Eton and passed three A-level exams, receiving an A in geography, a B in the history of art, and a C in biology. (A-levels are necessary in the British school system before a student can attend a university.) He was accepted by the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Before attending the university he spent a year traveling and pursuing educational projects. His first stop was a jungle in Belize, where he took part in military exercises with the Welsh Guards. Later that year he visited Chile in a visit organized by a group called Raleigh International, which takes young people on three-month expeditions that include environmental and community projects.

In a written interview published by PA News a few days before his 18th birthday, William said, "I enjoy water polo, football and rugby -- mostly team sports." He also enjoyed "being with my friends, going to the cinema, and watching football and rugby matches." He preferred action movies, casual clothing, and dance and pop music. He mentioned that he had a pet dog named Widgeon (a female black Labrador, named after a kind of wild duck). He dismissed rumors that he was dating singer Britney Spears as "nonsense" and declined to say whether he had a girlfriend. Admitting that public attention made him uncomfortable, the prince said, "I am grateful to the media for helping to protect my privacy and I hope I can enjoy the same freedom at university."

Like most of his family, the prince is very athletic. He rides motorbikes, plays tennis, rows, skis, fishes, and hunts. He probably also plays pool, since Prince Charles is known to have owned a pool table.

Prince William is 6'3", taller than his father, who is around 5'10", and Prince Harry who is 6'2". William is left-handed. In 1996 People Magazine named him "Best Dressed," and why not -- for his 13th birthday, his father gave him a valet! For his 17th birthday Prince Charles reportedly gave William his first car, a VW Golf.

Miscellaneous facts about Prince William which may or may not be true: He is an avid reader, and especially enjoys biographies. His favorite foods are chocolate, poached eggs, fruit salad, pizza, pasta, and venison. He shuns cigarettes and illegal drugs, but he drinks socially. Rumor has it that he once was quite a lady's man, but if so he was very discreet.

The prince began his four-year university course in autumn 2001. At first he studied art history, but later he decided to pursue a geography degree instead. He was registered under the name "William of Wales," and kept a deliberately low profile. It was rumored that he was lonely and bored and wanted to change schools, but his father (or royal aides) encouraged him to stick it out. One person who reportedly encouraged him to stay in school was fellow student Kate Middleton, who eventually became known as the prince's steady girlfriend.

The Future
Prince William graduated from St Andrews in June 2005 with a geography Master of Arts degree. He plans to join his brother at Sandhurst military academy in January 2006 to prepare for a career in the army.

William shares his mother's down-to-earth style. He has chosen to postpone using the title HRH (His Royal Highness) and prefers to be called simply William instead of "sir." In an interview to mark his 21st birthday, he explained, "I want people to call me William for now... I don't want all the formalities because they're not needed for the time being."

In the same interview, the future King William V denied rumors that he doesn't want to inherit the throne. "It's something I was born into and it's my duty... Those stories about me not wanting to be king are all wrong. It's a very important role and it's one that I don't take lightly. It's all about helping people and dedication and loyalty, which I hope I have -- I know I have." As the title of an early book about the prince proclaimed, he was "Born to Be King."