William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor1,2
Male, #58242, (21 Jun 1982 - )
| Parent | Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor2 (14 Nov 1948 - ) | |
| Parent | Diana Frances Spencer2 (1 Jul 1961 - 31 Aug 1997) | |
William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor|b. 21 Jun 1982|p58242.htm|Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor|b. 14 Nov 1948|p58241.htm|Diana Frances Spencer|b. 1 Jul 1961\nd. 31 Aug 1997|p58240.htm|||||||Edward J. Spencer 8th Earl Spencer|b. 24 Jan 1924\nd. 29 Mar 1992|p58238.htm|Frances R. B. Roche|b. 20 Jan 1936\nd. 3 Jun 2004|p58239.htm| | ||
| Name Variation | William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor was also known as His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.2 | |
| Birth* | 21 Jun 1982 | He was born on 21 Jun 1982 at Paddington, West London, England.2 |
| He was the son of Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor and Diana Frances Spencer.2 | ||
| Biography* | Mar 2008 | 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. 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 is as of 2007 serving as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army's Household Cavalry, together with his younger brother, Prince Harry. Within his regiment, he is known as Cornet William Wales. In 2008 William was enrolled in the pilot training program at RAF Cranwell where he is referred to as "Flying Officer Wales", he was given the callsign Billy the Fish by his fellow pilots being a pun on his name William Wales which also uses a part of his father's title for his surname. Childhood 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, Camel, 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 has descended from King Charles II of England and King James II of England. William, should he become King, will be the first monarch since Queen Anne to be descended from Charles I of England. He has a younger brother, Prince Henry 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. On 31 August 1997 at 12:21 am, Prince William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident in Paris. Her death came days after she spent a holiday in southern France with her boyfriend at that time 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 tragic news. At his mother's funeral, Prince William accompanied his father, brother, his grandfather Prince Philip and his uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer in 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, although William has seen little of him since then and also had little contact with Frances Shand Kydd, Diana's mother. It was said William was very upset that his mother was stripped of her title of HRH when she divorced. Education 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. In 1987. 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, 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. And he became as a volunteer with Raleigh International. Pictures of the prince cleaning a toilet were broadcast around the world. 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, the highest academic achievement of any heir to the British and other Commonwealth Realm thrones. He became the youngest British Royal to receive a bachelor's degree in history. 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, joining his brother who had been there since May 2005. He graduated in December 2006, following his brother into the Blues and Royals. Royal duties and career 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 was to the UK charity Centrepoint, 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. 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 British Armed Forces. 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 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, 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 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. Prince William has also reportedly expressed a desire to become the Governor General of Australia.[citation needed] That such a desire should ever be fulfilled remains doubtful, according to John Howard the former 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". 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. On Saturday 6 October 2007, it was revealed that Prince William's former Platoon Commander, Major Alexis Roberts, had been killed in Afghanistan, making Major Roberts the most senior British officer to be killed since the beginning of the conflict in 2001. Prince William was said to be "deeply saddened" at the death of his former platoon commander. In January 2008, Second Lieutenant Wales after only a year in the Blues and Royals has embarked on attachment to the Royal Air Force, having completed his first RAF pre-training flight which will then follow a 4-month pilot course in which after he will be able to fly RAF aircraft. After completing his attachment with the RAF the Prince will also go onto further secondment to the Royal Navy, following in the footsteps of his father, Charles, Prince of Wales, who is able to fly both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. William is thought to be taking these attachments in order to prepare himself for any future career as Head of the Armed Forces, when he becomes King. Prince William will go on further attachment on a Royal Navy destroyer or frigate this year, it was revealed on 1 March 2008. The Prince will go on to serve no less than 30 days at the Navy's lowest Officer level rank of Sub-Lieutenant and will be sent to the front-line in one of the world's current trouble spots, at the end of his conquest he will receive a Campaign medal just like his brother Harry is expected to receive for his 10-week deployment on active service to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. William will be going to fight when his brother has just returned from fighting. (Names referenced above: William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor).2 |
| Charts | The Culpepers of Hollingbourne, from 1539 to present? (Possibly extinct) |
| Last Edited | 9 Mar 2008 |
Citations
- 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).
- Prince William of Wales. (2008, March 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:21, March 9, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/inex.php?title=Prince_William_of_Wales&oldid=196973559