British Royalty: Prince William


Figure 1.--Prince William in a classic sailor suit and hat for his uncle's wedding. Note the strap shoes.

Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born on June 21, 1982 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in London. He was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Buckingham Palace and he was confirmed by the Bishop of London at St George's Chapel in 1997. William has become a teen heart throb in England. He is the shyer, more sensitive of the two brothers. He often has to be encouraged at public events by his parents. Understandably he intenely dislikes the press. As a younger boy Diana dressed him in a variety of stylish clothes, usually short pants outfits. By the time he began preparatory chool, however, he was wearing long trousers. Prince William is currently at Eton College, Windsor. He undertakes no official engagements on his own, although he attended the VE and VJ commemorations in 1995 in London with his family.

Heir

Prince William (1982- ), eldest son of the hier, is the current second in line to the throne. One day he will become King William V, a great and heavy responsibility. Since 1985 it has been royal policy that William should not fly in the same aeroplane as his father, Charles, since one fatal crash would mean the loss of England's next two kings.

Family

William is a member of perhaps the modst famous family in the world.

Parents

William is the oldest son of Prince Charles and Princes Dianna. Prince Charles is next in line to inherit the British crown as the elest son of Queen Elizabeth. This of course makes William the Grandson of Elizabeth II.

Brother

William has one brother, Prince Harry.

Childhood

William's mother, Diana, set royal precedents in the amount of personal attention she gave to her children and the public affection she has showed to both William and Henry (or "Harry") is well recorded. Both William and his younger brother have been given a pioneering childhood considering their status. They have been kept close to their parents on most occasions. They were not raised entirely by nannies, although considering the official demands on the royals, nannies did still play an important role. Neither parent was shy of showing their affection for their children in public, previously not a common trait of high-profile royals. Edward VIII, for example, compained bitterly of his father's stand-offish approach to his son. This all marked a significant change in the approach of a monarchy adapting to new social conditions and expectations.


Figure 2.--Dianne sometimes dressed Princes and William and Harry in traditional outfits until they started prep school. Click on the image for an enlarged, sharper picture.

Clothing

William as a very young boy wore French style rompers when he was baby and toddler. There were several portraits of him wearing several different images. Some had smocking on the front and baloon sleeves and Peter Pan collars. Princess Dianne like French-style clothes. William commonly wore short pants as a younger boy, often being dressed just like his younger brother. On occasions the boys would appear in nice outfits including white knee socks and blue Mary Jane sandals. More commonly they appeared in play shorts. He wore a short pants school uniform with ankle socks at his pre-prep school, but longs at his prepschool. Unlike his father, he rarely wore a kilt. The only time I have ever seen him and his brother in kilts was aformal portrait with their grandparents when the boys were very young. Prince Willim did wear another royal favorite--the sailor suit. He wore an emaculate white sailor suit for his uncle Andrew's wedding. We have no details on what William and his brother thought about clothing. Presumably by the time they began school they began expressing their opinions. Certainly they made it clear that they did not like kilts. Their attitude toward other styles are less clear.

Education

William attended preparatory school in London and then on to board at a prepartaory school (???). By this time his preparatory school had a long pants school uniform. His parents managed to keep William away from the interests of the press apart from on one notable occasion when he was hit on the head with a golf club during a school games lesson. The newspapers and especially the television news service were falling over themselves to give minute by minute coverage of what was a worrying but really quite minor incident. He is currently at Eton, England's most famous private secondary (Public) school where he wore the traditional Eton suit. Eton is a far cry from the remote Scottish school attended by his father. William is not considered a bright, but not brilliant student. He worked hard at Eton. The results on his A levels were an A in geography, a B in art history, and a C in Biology. While his results were not good enough for Cambridge or Oxfordm he eassily gained admission to St. Andrews University in Scotland. His first year at St. Andrews was very difficult, but Prince Charles convinced him to stay.

Personality

William as a young adult tends to be shy and introspective. Accoring to one reporter, he is a classic first son, resonsible, serious and controlled.

William and Harry

William plays the role of older brother with Harry who tends to be more impulsive in some ways, certainly less serious and thoughtful. Harry for his part seems quite willing to let his older brother tale the lead. While the two can exchange words, they tend to be very supportive of each other. Few of us can imagine what it is like to grown up in a spoltlight like the two of them. As they are both going through the same experience, they know just how each other feel. They also share many similar interests like polo and fox hunting. Willian in particular likes dogs. Fashionable London night clubs are also popular with both.

Future King

In the aftermath of his parent's highly publicised split, some royal waters saw him as the royal family's salvation. As he has developed into handsome, telegenic young man, he has achieved a popularity with the young rivaling a movie star. The royal family, especially the queen, however, is rportdly worried. Insiders say that William does not want to be king. He is apparently not reading books and attending personal lectures about the constitutional role of the monarchy. He apparently hates the media frenzy that goes with the job. This may relate to how Diana tried to protect the boys, but the media coverage of his parents must have significantly colored his attitudes. One royal watcher says that he does want to be kings, but on his own terms which means a monarchy without the media frenzy. That of course is not likely.






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Created: February 26, 1999
Last updated: 11:02 PM 7/15/2008