HRH Prince William - Information, Royal Family

HRH Prince William

Full Name: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten Windsor

Born: June 21st 1982 at St. Mary's Hospital in London, His Royal Highness Prince William was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury using water from the River Jordan at Buckingham Palace and confirmed by the Bishop of London in St. George's Chapel, Windsor in 1997. Prince William is the eldest son of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

As the eldest son of the heir to the throne, he is therefore second in line.

Education: After attending Ludgrove School, he was sent to board at Eton, one of England's most prestigious schools, which was founded in 1440. There he flourished, and particularly liked the uniform of a tailcoat and pinstriped trousers: having been made a member of 'Pop' (one of the elite prefects) Prince William was able to choose his own waistcoats and it was at this point he ordered his now famous Union Jack version!

He took a particular interest in sports and excelled on the rugby pitch. He also became one of England's top 100 swimmers at a very young age. Although he has a deep love of literature and poetry, Prince William chose to specialise in geography, biology and art history.

For four years he then attended St Andrew's University in Scotland, where he read History of Art, gaining a 2:1 degree, better than his father's 2:2 at Cambridge. At the time, his acceptance of a place there led to a forty percent increase in applications - mostly from females!

In 2006 he joined his brother, Prince Harry, at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, to train to become an Army Officer.

Life and times: Given the choice of undertaking community service or joining the Cadet Force at school, the prince opted for the latter, which put him in good stead for the military career that he has opted for prior to becoming King. He received Eton's Sword of Honour which is the highest awarded to first year army cadets.

As Eton is only minutes from Windsor Castle, this allowed the young prince to walk the short route to visit his grandmother The Queen every Sunday! Out of term time, Both Prince William and Prince Harry spent time at Sandringham, Balmoral, Highgrove and Buckingham Palace - all royal residences. His London residence is now St. James's Palace, which he shares with his father the Prince of Wales.

During his time at Eton and subsequently on a trip to Chile, Prince Charles's request for the press to leave the heir to the Throne in peace was very much respected. It was for this reason that Prince William made his first formal public engagement at a party for the Press Complaints Commission that also had many Fleet Street editors as guests. Although the prince initially seemed a little awkward, he soon relaxed and came away calling the event 'great fun!'

William has become the focus of increasingly adoring female attention, which causes him great embarrassment, however, for some time he has had a steady girlfriend, who he met at University, Kate Middleton.

Despite the recent compassion of the press, the prince will soon become the subject of intense public gaze - perhaps more than anyone in history.

He currently wears an electronic tracking device and is accompanied by a minimum of two Scotland Yard detectives wherever he goes, despite this, Prince William has succeeded in leading as normal a life as possible.

His hobbies include sports, hunting, shooting, skiing and painting, and he is known to be outgoing and caring despite occasional public displays of shyness.