William, Prince of Wales

William was the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Wales since Prince John was born to Prince George and Princess Mary (later King George V and Queen Mary) in July 1905.

William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne.

He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.

William was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

He was educated at Wetherby School, Ludgrove School and Eton College.

He earned a Master of Arts degree in geography at the University of St Andrews where he met his future wife, Catherine Middleton.

They have three children: George, Charlotte and Louis.

After university, William trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst prior to serving with the Blues and Royals.

Prince William was born on 21 June 1982 in St Mary's Hospital, London, as the first child of Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Buckingham Palace announced his name – William Arthur Philip Louis – on 28 June.

William was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, on 4 August, coinciding with the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

When he was nine months old, William accompanied his parents on their 1983 tour of Australia and New Zealand, as his first trip overseas.

It also marked the first time that a royal baby was taken on an overseas tour.

His younger brother, Prince Harry, was born in September 1984.

Both of them were raised at Kensington Palace in London, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.

Known informally as "Wills" within his family, William was nicknamed "Willy" by his brother and "Wombat" by his mother.

Diana wished her sons to obtain broader and more typical life experiences beyond royal upbringing, taking them to Walt Disney World, McDonald's, AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.

Biographer Robert Lacey asserts that William, a "rambunctious" and "bratty" child, grew "more reflective" with a "noticeably quiet character" as he began boarding school.

Diana was reported to have described William as "my little wise old man" on whom she started to rely as her confidant by his early teens.

William carried out his first public engagement while accompanying his parents on a visit to Llandaff on Saint David's Day in 1991.

He and Harry travelled to Canada on an official visit with their parents in 1991 and again with Charles in 1998.

William's parents divorced in 1996.

Diana died in a car accident in the early hours of 31 August 1997.

William, then aged 15, together with his 12-year-old brother and their father, was staying at Balmoral Castle at the time.

The following morning, Charles informed William and Harry of their mother's death.

William was reportedly uncertain as to whether he should walk behind his mother's coffin during the funeral procession.

His grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, told him: "If you don't walk, I think you'll regret it later. If I walk, will you walk with me?".

At the funeral, William and Harry walked alongside their father, grandfather, and maternal uncle, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.

After his mother's death, William stated that he was "in a state of shock for many years".

In 2008 William graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, joining the RAF Search and Rescue Force in early 2009.

William was made Duke of Cambridge immediately before his wedding in April 2011.

He became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay following his father's accession to the throne on 8 September 2022.

The following day he was made Prince of Wales.

He and Harry inherited the majority of the £12.9 million left by their mother on their respective 30th birthdays, a figure that had grown to £10 million each by 2014.

In 2014, the brothers inherited their mother's wedding dress along with many other of her personal possessions including dresses, diamond tiaras, jewels, letters and paintings.

He served as a full-time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance for two years, starting in July 2015.

William performs official duties and engagements on behalf of the monarch.

He holds patronage with over 30 charitable and military organisations, including the Tusk Trust, Centrepoint, The Passage, Wales Air Ambulance and London's Air Ambulance Charity.

He undertakes projects through the Royal Foundation, with his charity work revolving around mental health, conservation, homelessness and emergency workers.

In 2020 William launched the Earthshot Prize, a £50 million initiative to incentivise environmental solutions over the next decade.