Jump to content

William, Prince of Wales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 125.161.136.37 (talk) at 08:27, 8 June 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Prince William" redirects here. For other uses, see Prince William (disambiguation).
Prince William
Prince William of Wales
Prince William plays polo at Sandhurst, 2007.
Names
William Arthur Philip Louis[1]
HouseHouse of Windsor
FatherCharles, Prince of Wales
MotherDiana, Princess of Wales
OccupationCornet, Blues and Royals, Flying Officer RAF Cranwell training facility

Prince William of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and is also the elder brother of Prince Harry. He is second in the line of succession to the British throne and those of each of the other Commonwealth Realms. 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. He was the first prince to be born into the immediate royal family since the birth of Prince Edward in 1964.

The prince served as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army's Household Cavalry in 2007, together with his younger brother, Prince Harry. Within his regiment, he was known as Cornet William Wales.[2] In April 2008 William earned his wings by completing pilot training at RAF Cranwell.[3] His rank was Flying Officer but he was given the callsign Billy the Fish by his fellow pilots, a pun on his title William of Wales which also uses a part of his father's title for his surname.[4]

Early life

Childhood

Royal family of
the United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor

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 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 Queen Elizabeth 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 is a descendant of both King Charles II of England and Scotland and King James II of England and James VII of Scotland. William, should he become King, will be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be descended from King Charles I of England and Scotland.

He has a younger brother, Prince Harry of Wales, born 15 September 1984. 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.[5]

Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

Main article: Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

On 31 August 1997 at 4:00 am, William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales died as a result of injuries received in a car accident in Paris.[6] Her death came days after she spent a holiday at a house in Paris with her suggested boyfriend, 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 news.

At his mother's funeral, Prince William accompanied his father, brother, his paternal grandfather Prince Philip and his maternal uncle Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer behind 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. It is alleged William saw little of him since then .[citation needed] and also had little contact with Frances Shand Kydd[citation needed], Diana's mother. Both William and Harry attended their maternal grandmother's funeral in Scotland.

Education

File:2007 WSJ Prince William.jpg
William during the opening ceremony of the 21st World Scout Jamboree.

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. 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. He became a volunteer with Raleigh International. Pictures of the prince cleaning a toilet were broadcast around the world.[7]

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 in Geography, the highest academic achievement of any heir to the British and other Commonwealth Realm thrones[citation needed]. He became the youngest British Royal to receive an undergraduate degree in Geography.[citation needed] At St Andrews, the Prince used the name William Wales.[8][9]

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.

Royal duties and career

Military career

The Royal Family on the Trooping the Colour.

On 15 December 2006, Prince William graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). The graduation 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 has spent 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 is spending time with both the RAF and the Royal Navy to prepare him for his future role as head of the British armed forces. He will also increasingly carry out public engagements in parallel to his military career.

In January 2008, Cornet Wales embarked on attachment to the Royal Air Force, having completed his first RAF pre-training flight and then followed a 4-month pilot course, after which he was able to fly RAF aircraft.[10] Prince William graduated RAF Cranwell on 11 April 2008, he was presented with his RAF wings by his father, The Prince of Wales accompanied by The Duchess of Cornwall. Prince Charles graduated in the '70s after receiving his wings after training at the same RAF College straight after University just like his son. William's official guest was his long-time girlfriend, Kate Middleton.[11]

After completing his attachment with the RAF the Prince is going on to a further secondment with the Royal Navy for two months from the 2 June 2008. During this time he will spend three weeks at the Britannia Royal Naval College, spending time with units of the surface fleet, submarine service, Fleet Air Arm and Royal Marines, before deploying for a further five weeks on HMS Iron Duke in the Caribbean.[12]

Royal duties

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, 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. William's second work placement was with the HSBC Group in London.

William's first patronage is with the UK charity Centrepoint,[13] 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.[14][15][16]

In a biography on Princess Diana by Tina Brown published in 2007, it was reported that Prince William had expressed a desire to become the Governor General of Australia.[17] That such a desire should ever be fulfilled is doubtful, according to John Howard the then 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".[2]

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.

Personal life

William's private life has been the subject of much discussion in the international news media.

Kate Middleton

In late 2005 the media concentrated on his long-term relationship with girlfriend Kate Middleton, formerly one of his university flatmates, whom he began dating late in 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.

On 14 April 2007 a Sun newspaper report suggested that Prince William and Kate Middleton had split up.[18] 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.[19][20]

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.[21]

In June 2007, the 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.[22] In July 2007 Middleton accepted an invitation from William to attend the Concert for Diana, held at London's Wembley Stadium, but they sat three rows apart.[23] In August 2007 after the couple spent a week-long holiday together on the isolated island of Desroches in the Seychelles 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 for a shooting party on the Balmoral Estate.


Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of
HRH Prince William of Wales
File:Monarch's Grandchildren Coronet.svg
Reference styleHis Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness
Alternative styleSir

Titles and styles

  • 21 June 1982 —: His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales

The Prince's style in full is His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Surname

By 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").[24]

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

Should his father succeed to the throne, William will automatically and immediately obtain the titles of Duke of Rothesay and Duke of Cornwall and it is expected that he will be invested 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.

Regnal

As the eldest son of the current Prince of Wales, William may 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. He can of course as monarch choose any regnal name.

Honours

On 22 April 2008 it was announced that the Queen was pleased to appoint Prince William as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. He became the 1,000th member on the Order's Register.[25]

The last time a sovereign granted the Order of the Garter to a grandchild was in 1894, when Queen Victoria installed her grandson Prince Alfred, The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Before him in 1884, Prince George of Wales (later King George V) was granted with the Order too.

Prince William also holds the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.

Military

Honorary military appointments

Arms

Arms of Prince William of Wales

On his 18th birthday, Prince William was granted his own personalised 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 three yellow lions on a red field, representing England.)
2nd, Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counterflory gules (Scotland). (The second quarter displays a red lion in a yellow field, with a double border also red, representing Scotland.)
3rd, Azure, a harp or stringed argent (Ireland). (The third quarter displays a yellow harp with white strings on a blue field, representing 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 Template:Genealogics pedigree.

Family of William, Prince of Wales
16. George I of Greece
8. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
17. Olga Konstantinovna of Russia
4. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
18. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven
9. Princess Alice of Battenberg
19. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
2. Charles, Prince of Wales
20. George V of the United Kingdom
10. George VI of the United Kingdom
21. Mary of Teck
5. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
22. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
11. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
23. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck
1. Prince William of Wales
24. Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer
12. Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer
25. Margaret Baring
6. John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer
26. James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn
13. Cynthia Hamilton
27. Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham
3. Diana Spencer
28. James Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy
14. Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy
29. Frances Work
7. Frances Burke Roche
30. Col. William Smith Gill
15. Ruth Gill
31. Ruth Littlejohn

Through his maternal grandfather, Prince William is descended from King Charles II and King James II and VII of England and Scotland. William, should he become King, will be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be descended from Charles I of England and Scotland. Prince William is of Armenian, Irish, Scottish, American, and English descent from his mother, the late Princess Diana.

Patrilineal descent

William's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in most royal houses, and can be traced back through the generations - which means that William is agnatically a member of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg line of the House of Oldenburg. House of Oldenburg

  1. Egilmar I of Lerigau, dates unknown
  2. Egilmar II of Lerigau, d. 1142
  3. Christian I of Oldenburg, d. 1167
  4. Moritz of Oldenburg, d. 1209
  5. Christian II of Oldenburg, d. 1233
  6. John I, Count of Oldenburg, d. 1275
  7. Christian III, Count of Oldenburg, d. 1285
  8. John II, Count of Oldenburg, d. 1314
  9. Conrad I, Count of Oldenburg, 1300 - 1347
  10. Christian V, Count of Oldenburg, 1340 - 1423
  11. Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg, 1398 - 1440
  12. Christian I, King of Denmark, 1426 - 1481
  13. Frederick I, King of Denmark, 1471 - 1533
  14. Christian III, King of Denmark, 1503 - 1559
  15. John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, 1545 - 1622
  16. Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, 1573 - 1627
  17. August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1612 - 1675
  18. Frederick Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1653 - 1728
  19. Peter August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1696 - 1775
  20. Karl Anton August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1727 - 1759
  21. Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1757 - 1816
  22. Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, 1785 - 1831
  23. Christian IX, King of Denmark, 1818 - 1906
  24. George I, King of Greece, 1845 - 1913
  25. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, 1882 - 1944
  26. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1921 -
  27. Charles, Prince of Wales, 1948 -
  28. Prince William of Wales, 1982 -

See also

Notes

  1. ^ As a titled royal, William holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Mountbatten-Windsor (or, more colloquially, his father's territorial designation, Wales)
  2. ^ William joining Harry's regiment, BBC News, September 21, 2006. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  3. ^ Kate watches William get his wings, The Sydney Morning Herald, April 12, 2008. Accessed April 12, 2008.
  4. ^ 'Sharp eyes' William's solo flight
  5. ^ "Prince William marks the end of the first term of his third university year with an interview". princeofwales.gov.uk. 2003-12-14. Retrieved 2008-05-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Timeline: How Diana died, BBC News, December 14, 2006. Accessed April 11, 2008.
  7. ^ Rugged prince scores PR triumph, BBC News, December 11, 2000. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  8. ^ Summerskill, Ben. Welcome to Will's new world, The Guardian, December 11, 2000. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  9. ^ Howie, Michael. William Wales M.A. collects his degree, Scotsman, June 24, 2005. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  10. ^ Yahoo! News. "Prince William begins RAF pilot training". Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  11. ^ Prince William awarded RAF Wings, BBC News, April 11, 2008. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  12. ^ "William's Navy posting revealed". BBC Online. 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2008-05-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Prince William Patron of Centrepoint". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Prince William to watch namesake cup tie on icwales
  15. ^ RAY GRAVELL AND THE PRINCE WILLIAM CUP - Early Day Motion by Adam Price on 13 November 2007
  16. ^ Prince watches Wales lose his cup, BBC News, November 24, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  17. ^ Associated Press. Australian leaders dismiss the idea of Prince William as governor-general, International Herald Tribune, June 29, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  18. ^ Larcombe, Duncan. "Wills and Kate split", The Sun, April 14, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  19. ^ Larcombe, Duncan. Wills & Kate: Tears in the Alps, The Sun, April 16, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  20. ^ Prince William splits from Kate, BBC News, April 14, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  21. ^ Wilson, Christopher. "A historic act of folly and supreme egotism on the part of the Prince", Daily Mail, April 15, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  22. ^ Larcombe, Duncan. News: Wills and Kate are 'just friends', The Sun, June 25, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  23. ^ It's a hard life Kate!, Daily Mail, July 4, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2008.
  24. ^ Official web site of the British Monarchy
  25. ^ [1], Buckingham Palace Press Release, April 22, 2008. Accessed April 22, 2008.

Template:Commons2

Wikiquote has quotations related to William, Prince of Wales.
William, Prince of Wales
Born: 21 June 1982
British royalty
Preceded by Line of succession to the British Throne
2nd position 		Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
HRH Prince William of Wales 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Gentlemen
in current practice 		Succeeded by

Template:Fb start

Template:Fb end

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William,_Prince_of_Wales&oldid=217915694"