PERSONAL BACKGROUND
Real Name: William Arthur Philip Louis Spencer Mountbatten-WindsorKnown Simply as: Prince William of Wales
Formal name in school: HRH Prince William
Name used professionally: William Wales
Future Regnal name:
William V
Birthdate: June 21, 1982
Birthplace: St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Height: 6’4
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Status: Single
Religion: Anglican
Nationality: British
Known Facts:
He is left-handed. He has several nicknames, including Wombat, Dreamboat Willy, and Wills. A sports enthusiast, he excelled both in Polo and swimming. He loves ice skiing and Tennis. He is an avid football fan.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Nursery 1: Mrs. Mynors Nursery School 1985-1987 Notinghill Gate, London
Nursery 2: Wetherby School 1987-1990 Notinghill Gate, London
Pre-prep: Ludgrove School 1990-1995 Berkshire, England
Prep : Eton College 1995-2000 Berkshire, England
College : St. Andrews University 2001-2005 Fife, St. Andrew, Scotland Course: AB Geography -w/upper-class honors (where he was awarded with a Scottish Master of Arts degree).
FAMILY BACKGROUNDFather: Charles Arthur Philip George Mountbatten-Windsor(HRH Prince Charles)
Birthdate: November 20, 1948 (Buckingham Palace, London)
Occupation: Prince of Wales, Heir to the British Throne
Mother: Diana Frances Burke-Roche Spencer (Diana, Princess of Wales)
Birthdate: July 1, 1961 (Park House, Sandringham)
Date Died: August 31, 1997 (Paris, France)
Sibling: Henry Charles Albert David also known as HRH Prince Harry
Paternal Grandparents: HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh(formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark) and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
Maternal Grandparents: His Lordship Edward John Spencer, the 8th Earl of Althorp (died: 1992)
The Honorable Mrs. Frances Shand-Kydd (a Baron's daughter/died: 2004)
SHORT BIOGRAPHY:
He was born on June 21, 1982 at 9:03 pm, St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London and weighed 7.5 pounds. The Queen’s troop, the Royal Horse Artillery, rode in a full dress uniform from their barracks to Hyde Park near Windsor and fired a 41-gun salute to honor the birth of the Future King. The Honorable Artillery Company fired the same number of salvoes in the Tower of London and the church bells from the historical Westminster Abbey, St. Paul Cathedral and Windsor Castle pealed simultaneously from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm.
For several days after his birth he was known simply as Baby Wales because his parents could not agree what would be his name. As second in line to the British throne his name should be in accordance with the royal tradition of the monarch’s regnal name. His father wanted to name him Arthur, but his mother lobbied for William in honor of William the Conqueror. Eventually they settled for William Arthur Philip Louis. His second name is in honor of the legendary British King, Arthur. Philip is in honor of his paternal grandfather Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and Louis is for his great-great uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was the favorite uncle of Prince Charles.
William’s birth brought a steadier position of the British monarchy in world history, because being a boy means his birthright is secure in the line of succession and a continuation of the House of Windsor. The infant Prince, who still did not know how his birth brought hope and joy for his country, won many admirers right away, within 24 hours of his birth, his photograph, snapped by journalists and distributed worldwide, dominated newspapers and allowed the world to marvel at the cute baby who would one day be King of the United Kingdom. He was baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the music room of Buckingham palace on August 4, 1982 on the occasion of the 82nd birthday of the Queen Mother. His godparents included: Lord Romsey (Lord Mountbatten’s grandson), King Constantine II of Greece (Charles’ second cousin), Sir Lauren Van Post, a South African writer and Charles’ best friend, Princess Alexandra of Kent (the Queen’s cousin), Lady Susan Hussey (Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen) and The Duchess of Westminster (wife of Lord Gerald Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster-the richest aristocrat in Britain).
His father is the current Prince of Wales, Charles, heir to the British throne and his mother was the late Diana, Princess of Wales. William has a younger brother Prince Harry. His maternal grandfather, the late Earl Spencer of Althorp, was a direct descendant of both the Duke of Grafton and the Duke of Richmond, two illegitimate sons of King Charles II of Britain. If he would be King, William will be the first monarch since Queen Anne to descend from King Charles I, the second of the Stuarts monarch of Britain. His true family name is neither Windsor nor Mountbatten. His paternal grandfather’s family name is Glucksburg-Oldenburg, a dynastic name of the Royal House of Denmark where Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh descended. In 1946 Philip was obliged to change his identity to be more acceptable to the British public for his marriage to the heiress of the British throne, the then Princess Elizabeth. As a Royal Prince, Philip, did not have a surname, like other royalty he was known simply as Prince Philip of Greece. He took the name Mountbatten (the Anglicized version of Battenberg), his maternal grandfather’s surname after he renounced his Greek royal title. On the other hand, Windsor is the name creation of William's ancestor King George V's royal house in 1917. George V was the grandson of Queen Victoria from the House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha whose real family name is Wettin.
Prince William made history as the first infant heir to be included in an official Royal tour, when in 1983, he accompanied his parents to an extended tour in Australia and New Zealand. Reports had it that his young mother, the Princess of Wales, refused to go if the infant heir will be left behind, so the Queen ruled to bring the baby with them. He was the first future king of Britain also to study a nursery school like a commoner. His mother fought hard with palace rules to educate her sons outside Palace walls to meet children outside royalty. Diana continued breaking royal traditions by allowing William and Harry to go to some ordinary places like fast food chains and amusement park.
It is a known fact that William was extra close and very protective of his mother. It was reported that the young Prince was very upset every time he saw his mother crying, at one point after Diana’s blistering row with Prince Charles, she lacked herself in the bathroom for an hour, William rolled a tissue paper and slip it under the bathroom door with an emotional note “I don’t want to see you crying”. After the publication of Andrew Morton's book “Diana, Her true story”, everybody in the royal circle blamed Diana for cooperating with the author, expressing their disgust toward the Princess, the royal family bluntly called her "a traitor" for breaking the "code of silence of royalty". She was put in the bad light that she became emotional and depressed . Prince William once again rushed to her side and gave her a box of chocolates with a tender note"This can make you happy, I know you’ve been hurt”. In 1996 when the divorce of the Waleses became final, Diana was stripped of HRH status, the humiliation of being yanked from the royal pedestal was very painful to Diana, she retired to Kensington palace after the sad announcement and cried, William hugged her and said “I will give back the HRH style to you when I become King”, a promise that made Diana tearful even more.
After the divorce, William and Harry lived with their mother at Kensington Palace but continue splitting their time with both parents. They spent their school break at Balmoral Castle and Highgrove estate with their father. In July 1997 the two Princes spent holidays in the Greek isle with Diana aboard the luxury yacht owned by the Al-Fayeds and returned to London without their mother to join Prince Charles and the rest of the royal family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. On the early morning of August 31, 1997, they received the devastating news about their mother’s death in a car accident.
No one exactly knew the real feelings of the two young princes, especially William, as they were both protected by the Palace officials. Nobody allowed interviewing them during their grief, but when the day of the funeral broadcasted worldwide, it was easy to predict how they felt toward their mother’s sudden demise. They walked with the funeral cortege along side their father Prince Charles, their grandfather Prince Philip and their maternal uncle, the 9th Earl Spencer from St. James Palace all the way to Westminster Abbey. Visibly seen beside the wreath of flowers on Diana's coffin was a white envelope simply labelled "Mummy" from Prince William's handwriting. William bowed his head as he walked slowly to the altar. People remembered how eager Diana wanted to see him King.
In January 2006 he started his military training at the Elite Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England joining his younger brother Prince Harry. In 2007 he started serving as Cornet (a new and junior officer-usually the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in the British Cavalry Troop) in the Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army’s Household Cavalry. Within his regiment he is known as Cornet William Wales. As of 2008 he is enrolled in the pilot training program of the Royal Air force Cranwell where he is referred to as “Flying Officer William Wales”. He is the current President of the Football Association in Britain and patron to many charities left by his mother.
Prior to his mother’s 10th death anniversary, he was interviewed by a BBC journalist together with his brother Harry. It was on that interview that the two royal princes expressed their feelings toward the loss of their mother at an age where they needed her most. Prince Harry, who was barely 13 years old when the accident took place at downtown Paris, confided how he remembered his mother’s beauty and compassion, how she giggled when they arrived from school and how they missed her presence. In his tributes at the church ceremony he called Diana as “simply the best mother in the world” with a choking voice. Prince William told the BBC reporter that “not a day goes passed without thinking about her” he added that he and Harry “missed her terribly because she was a massive example to us both, her compassion, her kindness”.
The two sons tried their best to protect the memory of their mother, in 2005, some newspapers in Europe published the photos of the dying Princess. They were both upset and sued the publication. The photos of their mother inside the wreck of the car, grasping her breath reopened old wounds and sad memories at the loss of a parent who was extra special and dear to them, seeing the pictures once again in the tabloids caused them much pain. William then went on saying: ”Our mother protected us to the best she could be when she was still alive, the least we can do now is to protect her memory”. As always as protective as he was when Diana was still around, the future British King, declared he would keep his mother’s legacy alive.
Photo by Whistler Pastry Chef - Rosalind MacLean.
