Prince William is the eldest son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Wales and is the next in line to the British throne after his father. William served in the Royal Air Force and supports numerous charities. On April 29, 2011, he made international headlines when he married his college sweetheart, Kate Middleton, at Westminster Abbey. The couple’s son Prince George, third in line to the throne, was born on July 22, 2013. Their second child, Princess Charlotte, was born on May 2, 2015, and another son, Prince Louis, followed on April 23, 2018.
Prince William was born Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor on June 21, 1982, in London, England, the eldest son of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Charles, Prince of Wales. His official title is “His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.”
William attended Mrs. Mynor’s Nursery school in West London (1985-87), Wetherby School in Kensington, London (1987-90), and Ludgrove School in Wokingham (1990-95). In 1995, at the urging of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William (nicknamed “Wills”) entered Eton College, one of England’s most prestigious secondary schools. A serious student with excellent grades, he also excelled in sports at Eton, particularly swimming. With his father and brother, he enjoys outdoor sports including riding, skiing, shooting, and fishing.
As he is directly in line to the British throne after his father, Charles, he spends a good deal of time at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who is very concerned with his upbringing and career development.
Upon his graduation from Eton, William took a break from his studies to visit South America and Africa. He then attended Scotland’s St Andrew’s University, where he received a degree in geography in 2005. Following in the footsteps of his younger brother, Prince Harry, William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a military cadet and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry in December 2006. In 2008, he was appointed to be a Royal Knight Companion of the Noblest Order of the Garter. He is now training to be a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.
Along with his military career, William supports numerous charities, including serving as patron to Centrepoint, an organization for homeless youth, and the Tusk Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of African wildlife. In 2007, William and his brother Harry hosted a special concert to celebrate their late mother and raise funds for charities that Princess Diana supported during her life as well as charities supported by the princes.
As the future king of England, William’s personal life has been the subject of much media attention. He had been romantically linked to Kate Middleton; the couple met while attending St. Andrew’s University. Rumors of a possible engagement swirled around the pair for months, but to the surprise of royal watchers, the couple announced that they were splitting up in April 2007. However, in the time since that announcement, Middleton had attended several public and official events, as well as traveled on vacation with Prince William. Speculation about a wedding engagement between Prince William and Kate Middleton continued to swell.
On November 16, 2010, it was announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton were engaged. Prince William had popped the question in October during a holiday in Kenya, using his mother’s engagement ring. It was also stated that the couple would live in North Wales, where Prince William is stationed with the Royal Air Force. Middleton is not of royal or aristocratic lineage, which is a break from longtime royal tradition.
With his marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, the Queen officially conferred her grandson with the title William, Duke of Cambridge, as well as the additional titles Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.
The British royal family lives a life of luxury. Between residing in actual palaces, traveling all over the world in style, holding legitimate royal titles, and having phenomenal wardrobes, they know a thing or two about wealth.
William and Middleton have a lot of money — a lot. Let’s begin with the Duke of Cambridge. According to Celebrity Net Worth, William is worth $40 million. You know, just a small chunk of change. The Richest also reports William has a net worth of $40 million.
They both reportedly inherited 13 million pounds (currently this is over $17.5 million in U.S. dollars) from their mother, Princess Diana, with William receiving 6.5 million pounds (today this is over $8.5 million U.S. dollars) from Diana’s inheritance. The Richest also reports William received money from the estate of his late great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s mother.
According to a Forbes report, Diana left her sons $10 million after taxes and they reportedly starting getting yearly dividends at 25, which Forbes reported is an estimated $450,000 a year. Reader’s Digest also reports William and Harry earned $450,000 per year investment profit but at the age of 21. Forbes reported William and Harry would receive their inheritance in full at the age of 30.
In March 2011, the Duke and Duchess set up a gift fund held by The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to allow well-wishers who want to give them a wedding gift to donate money to charities they care about instead. The gift fund supported 26 charities of the couple’s choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport, and conservation. These causes are close to their hearts and reflect the experiences, passions, and values of their lives so far.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s charity works mainly focus on issues surrounding young children, addiction, and art. She has a number of patronages: The Art Room, National Portrait Gallery, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice, Action on Addiction, Place2Be, Natural History Museum, Anna Freud Centre, Sport said, and The 1851 Trust. The Duchess, who was an art student, takes interest in art and handpicked the Art Room and the National Portrait Gallery herself, the first of which “helps disadvantaged children express themselves” through art therapy. In her capacity as patron of Action on Addiction, the Duchess has occasionally made visits to its centers , spending time with recovering addicts. The Duchess is joint Patron of 100 Women in Hedge Fund’s Philanthropic Initiatives, along with Prince William and Prince Harry. She is also a local volunteer leader with the Scout Association in north Wales, of which the Queen is the patron and the Duke of Kent is president. It aims to provide activities to over 400,000 young people in the UK.
In October 2012, the Duchess gave her royal patronage to the M-PACT programme (Moving Parents and Children Together), one of the only UK programmes to focus specifically on the impact of drug addiction on families as a whole. In December 2015, she assumed the patronage of the RAF Cadets for youths 12–19 years of age. The Duke of Edinburgh, who had been the patron of the RAF Cadets for 63 years, formally handed over during an audience at Buckingham Palace. In 2017, she became the patron of The Lawn Tennis Association, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and Action for Children.
In January 2018, locks of her hair were reportedly donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which makes wigs for children diagnosed with cancer. In February 2018, the Duchess became the patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She also launched Nursing Now, a three-year worldwide campaign determined to raise awareness about the profile of nurses stating that the campaign was personal to her as both her grandmother and great-grandmother were volunteer nurses. In March 2018, it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge would become the first royal patron of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Middleton became prominent for her fashion style and has been placed on numerous “best dressed” lists. She was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the “Most Promising Newcomer” in its 2006 list of style winners and losers. Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007. She was featured in People magazine’s 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists. Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell’s ten “Fabulous Fashion Independents” of 2007. In June 2008, Style.com selected Middleton as their monthly beauty icon.In July 2008, Middleton was included in Vanity Fair’s international best-dressed list. In February 2011, she was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor. In January 2012, she was voted ‘Headwear Person of the Year. Middleton was number one on Vanity Fair’s annual best-dressed lists in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013; she also appeared as the cover star in 2012. The Duchess was named to the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List in 2014.In 2014, she was already being regarded as a British cultural icon, with young adults from abroad naming her among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture, which included William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth II, David Beckham, J. K. Rowling, The Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, Elton John and Adele. In June 2016, she took part in her first magazine shoot for Vogue’s centenary issue appearing on the cover of the magazine.
Published in Mélange intl. Magazine in August 2018.