1982-present
Prince William News: Prince of Wales Makes Rare Comment about Wife Kate Middleton During Her Recovery
As royal observers on the internet continue to fixate on Kate Middleton’s whereabouts amid her recovery from a planned abdominal surgery in January, Prince William has mostly avoided discussing his wife at his public appearances. However, on March 14, while decorating cookies at a London youth center, 41-year-old William said, “My wife is the arty one.”
The comment was bizarrely timed, coming days after the Prince and Princess of Wales ensnarled themselves in a photo scandal. On March 10, Kate shared a picture of herself and the couple’s three children on social media in honor of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. William is credited as the photographer. News agencies around the world quickly retracted the photo’s distribution after discovering it had been manipulated. Kate, 42, then issued a rare public apology on X (formerly Twitter), stating “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”
William’s only other statement about the princess beyond brief mentions of her name came February 7 at a dinner for the London-based Air Ambulance Charity. “I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days,” he said, referencing King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis earlier this year. “It means a great deal to us all.” He then joked, “It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather medical focus, so I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all.”
Who Is William, Prince of Wales?
As the elder son of King Charles III and Princess Diana, Prince William of Wales is next in line to the British throne. He has been in the public eye since birth, including through his parents’ divorce in 1996 and his mother’s tragic death the next year while he was a teenager. After graduating from college in 2005, Prince William served more than seven years in the military. He then became the first British royal heir to hold a job in the private sector while working as a pilot. In 2017, the Duke of Cambridge pivoted again, devoting his time to his royal duties and philanthropic work. He became the Prince of Wales in September 2022 following his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s death and his father’s ascension to the throne. William is married to his college sweetheart, Kate Middleton, and the couple has three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: William Arthur Philip Louis
BIRTHDAY: June 21, 1982
BIRTHPLACE: London, England
SPOUSE: Princess Kate Middleton (2011-present)
CHILDREN: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis
PARENTS: King Charles III and Princess Diana
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer
Full Name and Royal Titles
Prince William was born William Arthur Philip Louis on June 21, 1982, in London, England. A member of the British royal family since birth, William is the elder son of King Charles III and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and the third grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
He received the nickname “Wills” as a child. In school and during his time in the military, William used Wales as his last name, which came from his father being Prince of Wales at the time. His other surname options included calling himself William Windsor after the royal house of Windsor or William Mountbatten-Windsor. His grandmother Queen Elizabeth decided her descendants could use the latter name, which includes her husband’s surname, Mountbatten. However, members of the royal family generally don’t use last names.
William was born a prince, and over the years, he has taken on more royal titles. In 2008, he was appointed as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. On April 29, 2011, the day of his wedding to Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth named him William, Duke of Cambridge and gave him the additional titles Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. He retains these titles today.
After his grandmother died in September 2022, William’s father took the throne as King Charles III. As the new heir-in-waiting, William became the Duke of Cornwall and gained control over the Duchy of Cornwall, a massive estate worth more than £1 billion ($1.25 billion) as of March 2023. The duchy can’t be sold, but its income goes directly to the heir. The duchy’s reported profits for 2022-23 were £24 million ($30 million). As the heir, William also received a new title in Scotland, where he is known as the Duke of Rothesay.
William didn’t automatically become Prince of Wales upon Queen Elizabeth II’s death because this title must be granted by the sovereign. On September 9, 2022, Charles named William the Prince of Wales. With this, William officially became His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.
Young Life and College
William has been a public figure since he was born, with the media closely following his life and that of his younger brother, Prince Harry. He disliked this attention, a feeling that was exacerbated by his parents’ divorce in 1996 and his mother’s untimely death in 1997. But the public continued to be fascinated by the tall and handsome prince, in particular lovestruck adolescent girls. (Today, he stands 6-foot-3.) Even when his family argued that William had a right to privacy, the press countered that the public deserved to learn about the future king.
William attended Mrs. Mynor’s Nursery School (now The Minors Nursery School) in West London beginning in 1985, transitioned to Wetherby Kensington in 1987, and finished his primary education at Ludgrove School, where he studied from 1990 to 1995, in Wokingham. He started skiing as a boy and spent years watching his father play polo, eventually taking up the sport himself.
Although his grandfather Prince Philip, his father, and his uncles Prince Andrew and Prince Edward had attended Gordonstoun School in Scotland, in 1995, Prince William entered Eton College, one of England’s most prestigious secondary schools. A serious student with excellent grades, William also excelled in sports at Eton, particularly swimming. The school’s proximity to Windsor Castle allowed him to regularly visit his grandparents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Upon his graduation from Eton in 2000, William took a gap year during which he traveled and worked on community projects in Chile. In 2001, he began his studies at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews, where he received a degree in geography in 2005.
Wife Kate Middleton
William met Kate Middleton in 2001, when he began his studies at St. Andrews. As depicted on the Netflix series The Crown, he was captivated by Middleton’s appearance in a March 2002 university fashion show. Their romance blossomed when they moved into off-campus housing with two friends that fall. In 2004, the media photographed the two together on the slopes in Switzerland and confirmed the relationship.
With a few bumps along the way, the couple endured past their graduation from St. Andrews. Then, to the surprise of royal watchers, the pair announced that they were splitting up in April 2007. However, the two were back together within a few months. As the relationship continued during William’s military service, speculation about an engagement between the two continued to grow.
On November 16, 2010, then-Prince Charles announced William and Middleton were engaged. William had popped the question in October during a holiday in Kenya, using his mother’s engagement ring. Unlike William’s parents, Middleton isn’t of royal or aristocratic lineage. Before starting their own business, her mother and father worked as a flight attendant and a flight dispatcher.
Wedding
Prince William and Kate, whose real name is Catherine, were married on April 29, 2011. Their wedding at Westminster Abbey was an international spectacle, with 23 million people tuning in live to watch the ceremony. The lavish celebrations reportedly cost $34 million, though $32 million of that went to security.
On their wedding day, William became Duke of Cambridge, and Middleton was named Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Her royal titles have changed along with her husband’s over the years. When he inherited the Duke of Cornwall title, she became Duchess of Cornwall. William being named Prince of Wales made her Catherine, Princess of Wales. As Queen Camilla didn’t use the Princess of Wales title, Catherine is the first to do so since Princess Diana.
Rumored Affair
Despite the couple’s seemingly happy relationship, in 2019, rumors began to spread that William might have been romantically involved with an aristocratic neighbor, thought to be Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The Palace never officially commented on this matter. However, in 2023, King Charles named Hanbury’s husband as his Lord-in-Waiting, which was reported as a possible indication that there was no truth behind talk of an affair. Hanbury also attended Charles’ coronation, and one of her sons served as a Page of Honor in the ceremony.
Children
The prospect of William and Kate having children helped push the British government to pass the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013. This piece of legislation made the rules of succession more equitable by removing gender as a factor for royals born after October 28, 2011. Prior to this, boys received precedence ahead of their older sisters when it came to ascending to the throne.
Today, William and Kate have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The kids are second, third, and fourth, respectively, in the line of succession to the throne.
St James’s Palace announced Kate’s first pregnancy in December 2012. Anticipating the new royal’s arrival in July 2013, international media outlets camped out in front of London’s St. Mary’s Hospital, where Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William and later Prince Harry. Kate gave birth to a baby boy, weighing in at 8 pounds and 6 ounces, on July 22 at 4:24 p.m. local time. Two days later, the baby’s name was revealed: George Alexander Louis, who was known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
William and Kate welcomed their second child, a daughter, on May 2, 2015. Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana arrived at 8:34 a.m. local time at St Mary’s Hospital and weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Charlotte’s middle name Diana honors William’s late mother. Charlotte joined the line of succession after her brother Prince George and retained a spot ahead of her younger brother when he was born three years later.
In September 2017, Kensington Palace announced the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were expecting their third child. Catherine gave birth to Prince Louis Arthur Charles on April 23, 2018. The newest member of the family weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and takes the middle name Charles after his grandfather, King Charles III.
George and Charlotte attended Thomas’s Battersea school in London before the family relocated to Windsor in 2022. All three kids started at Lambrook School in Berkshire that year. William’s children initially used Cambridge as a last name at school, from his being Duke of Cambridge. After William became Prince of Wales, his children started using Wales as a last name, as their father did when he was young.
For William and Kate, preparing their firstborn for royal duties is an important task, especially now that George is second in line for the throne. However, they also want to protect their son from excessive scrutiny until he’s older.
Military Service
Following in the footsteps of his brother, William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a military cadet in January 2006 and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry in that December.
In 2010, William graduated from a search-and-rescue pilot course with the Royal Air Force. He served as a search-and-rescue pilot until 2013. That September, he announced that he was leaving the military to focus on his royal responsibilities and charity work. It wasn’t the last time he relied on his military service training, however.
While still performing his royal duties, Prince William announced in 2014 that he would become a pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. (He officially worked for the air ambulance company Bond Air Services, which operates the service.) The position made him the first British royal heir to hold a job in the private sector, though he donated his salary to charity. Following mandatory training, William started responding to emergency situations in March 2015. He left in July 2017 to have more time for his royal obligations.
Royal Duties
As a working royal, William’s official duties include hosting receptions and traveling overseas on behalf of the government. Along with his wife, William visited several Caribbean nations in the spring of 2022. The trip was less successful than expected: A protest in Belize changed the royal itinerary, and the Jamaican prime minister said he no longer wanted the queen to be the country’s head of state. However, people were happy to see the royal couple at other stops on the trip.
At King Charles’ coronation on May 6, 2023, William participated in the ceremony when he knelt and pledged his loyalty to his father. William has also been a Counsellor of State since he was 21. This position means he can step in to handle some official duties, such as the opening of Parliament, if the monarch is temporarily unavailable. As King Charles’ heir, William would become regent should Charles be incapacitated. A regent can handle almost all of the monarch’s duties, though they can’t approve legislation that changes the order of succession.
Despite royals being expected to remain apolitical, William has more freedom as the Prince of Wales than he will as king. He demonstrated this in February 2024 by calling for “an end to the fighting as soon as possible” between Hamas and Israel in its ongoing conflict, as well as more humanitarian support in Gaza and hostage releases.
Where Does Prince William Live?
William and his family live in Adelaide Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Home Park, a private park at Windsor Castle. They also have a London residence at Kensington Palace.
Philanthropy
Like many other members of the British royal family, William has used his wealth and influence as a philanthropist. In 2005, he became patron to Centrepoint, an organization for homeless youth, and the Tusk Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of African wildlife.
Environmental issues are of particular interest to the prince, mirroring his father’s focus on sustainability. William founded United for Wildlife to promote wildlife conservation in 2013. At the time, he explained, “The threats to our natural heritage are extensive, but I believe that this collaboration of the best minds in conservation will provide the impetus for a renewed commitment and action to protect endangered species and habitats for future generations.”
Prince William also supports sustainability-focused ventures through the Earthshot Prize. In late 2019, William announced plans for the prize to be awarded every year, over the course of a decade, to five recipients who present the best solutions to the planet’s pressing problems. The five categories are nature protection, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination, and climate change. The first prizes were awarded in 2021.
Historically, William also teamed up with Prince Harry to make a positive impact. In 2007, the brothers 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 they supported. Two years later, they created The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. Over the years, the charitable organization has focused on issues like mental health via the Heads Together initiative, as well as programs to support children and emergency responders. The foundation also used its resources to aid people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
William’s wife, Kate, became a patron of the foundation following their 2011 marriage, and the name changed to The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Subsequent transformations occurred in 2018, when Harry’s wife Meghan Markle became a patron; 2019, when Harry and Meghan left the partnership; and 2022, when it became The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to reflect William and Kate’s new titles.
In February 2024, William shared details about a project to build 24 homes on Duchy of Cornwall land. The housing will be combined with additional support resources to help people going through homelessness. The initiative built on a “Homewards” program from The Royal Foundation that works on ways to end homelessness.
Relationship with Prince Harry
William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, bonded over the upheaval of their parents’ divorce and the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, in a 1997 car crash in Paris. The brothers shared a royal household, the name for the staff and courtiers who handle scheduling and communications, even after William and Kate’s 2011 wedding. But the brothers’ relationship began to change after Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018.
In March 2019, news came that Harry and Meghan were going to separate their royal household from William and Kate’s. Later that year, Harry and Meghan decided to leave their joint charitable effort, The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which was subsequently renamed with just William and Catherine’s titles.
In 2020, Harry and Meghan left their roles as working royals and settled in California. Since then, Harry has opened up about his frustrations and fights with William via interviews, a 2022 Netflix docuseries, and his revealing memoir Spare (2023). Following a March 2021 interview in which Harry and Meghan told Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family had questioned how dark their son’s skin would be ahead of his birth, William declared to a reporter, “We’re very much not a racist family.”
Aside from this response, William hasn’t publicly addressed his relationship with his brother. He didn’t publicly acknowledge Harry at their father’s 2023 coronation. Royal insiders have shared that reconciliation is unlikely because William remains angry with his brother for stepping back from the royal family and subsequently airing their personal conflicts. According to royal experts, the two brothers rarely speak to each other.
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Sara Kettler is a Connecticut-based freelance writer who has written for Biography.com, History, and the A&E True Crime blog. She’s a member of the Writers Guild of America and also pens mystery novels. Outside of writing, she likes dogs, Broadway shows, and studying foreign languages.
