Prince William of Wales

Biography

William, Prince of Wales (born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, and is the heir apparent to the British throne. He was born at St Mary’s Hospital in London and is a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

William grew up in the public eye alongside his younger brother, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Their mother, Diana, sought to give her sons experiences beyond traditional royal life, while also introducing them to charitable causes from an early age. William was fifteen when Diana died following a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

He was educated at several schools, including Eton College, before attending the University of St Andrews in Scotland. There he studied geography and met Catherine Middleton, who would later become his wife. William graduated in 2005.

After university, William pursued a military career. He trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned as an officer in the British Army. He subsequently trained with the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and later became a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot with the RAF. After leaving full-time military service, he worked as an air ambulance pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

William married Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011. Queen Elizabeth II granted him the title Duke of Cambridge on the occasion of the marriage. William and Catherine have three children: Prince George of Wales, born in 2013; Princess Charlotte of Wales, born in 2015; and Prince Louis of Wales, born in 2018.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022 and the accession of his father as King Charles III, William became heir apparent. He inherited the titles Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, and on 9 September 2022 King Charles III announced William as Prince of Wales.

As a senior member of the Royal Family, William represents the monarch at official engagements in Britain and abroad. His public work has included initiatives concerning homelessness, mental health, conservation, emergency services, and support for members of the armed forces and their families.

Environmental conservation has become a particularly prominent part of his work. In 2020, William launched The Earthshot Prize, an international initiative intended to identify and support innovative solutions to major environmental challenges.

William has also made homelessness a central focus of his public work. Through the Royal Foundation, he launched the Homewards programme in 2023, bringing together local organizations in several areas of the United Kingdom with the long-term goal of demonstrating approaches that can help make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated.

As Prince of Wales and heir apparent, William occupies a central position in the modern British monarchy. His role combines the traditional responsibilities of the heir to the throne with his own charitable and environmental initiatives, while he and Catherine represent the next generation of the British Royal Family.