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The
first son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, William Arthur Philip
Louis Windsor was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London,
on June 21, 1982.
As
the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, he is second in line to the
throne after his father.
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| Prince
William playing polo at Cirencester Park with his father |
At
over six feet tall the son Princess Diana used to nickname Willy
Wombat has inherited his mother's blonde hair, blue eyes and good
looks.
Today
the pin-up Prince has heart-throb status with a growing worldwide
fan club.
William
is a keen sportsman and, like his father and brother Harry, regularly
plays polo at Cirencester Park near Highgrove, Lord Bathurst's 15,000-acre
country estate. He also enjoys hunting with the Beaufort Hunt.
He
is regularly seen at the wheel of his car on Gloucestershire roads
but in June 2003 Prince Charles was forced to apologise after his
son was involved in a driving dispute on a Cirencester Park estate
road after overtaking Lord Bathurst at speed when leaving a polo
match.
Animal
lover William has a black Labrador, called Widgeon, and shares the
Royal Family's love of horses although he does not have one of his
own.
He
is left-handed and apart from polo he also enjoys water polo, football
- he is an Aston Villa supporter - and rugby.
When
William and his brother Harry were small they were regularly seen
out and about in Cirencester and Tetbury with their mother when
Princess Diana took them shopping while on on weekend and holiday
visits to nearby Highgrove House, the family's country home.
Today
the royal brothers have their own quarters at Highgrove, including
a basement area where there have reportedly been some high-spirited
parties.
William's
public appearances began at the age of eight when he joined his
parents for the St David's Day service at Llandaff Cathedral in
Wales - and today his connection with the Principality is even stronger
as he prefers to be known as William Wales.
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| Prince
William is regularly seen driving near his country home at Highgrove |
His
most poignant duty came when, aged 15, he joined his brother to
walk behind their mother's coffin on the way to her funeral service
in Westminster Abbey after her tragic death in a Paris car crash
in 1997.
After
prep school at Ludgrove in Berkshire, where William demonstrated
early sporting prowess, he studied at Eton College where he took
12 GCSEs and A-levels in history of art, geography and biology.
He
took a gap year after his A-levels, including time in Belize and
Africa and taking part in a Raleigh International community project
in Chile, before going on to study history of art at St Andrew's
University.
After
his studies, he reportedly plans to do environmental work in Africa,
instead of the traditional royal career in the military.
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