Today is The Duke of Cambridge’s 39th birthday. To celebrate, we’re giving you a run down on Prince Charles’ eldest son, with some factoids you might not know!
1) William Arthur Philip Louis was born on 21 June 1982 to Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales.
2) William was known as ‘Baby Wales’ for a week before his name was announced to the world.
3) He was the first future King to be born in a hospital, after arriving at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital. This is a tradition that has carried over to the birth of the Duke’s own children with The Duchess of Cambridge: George, Charlotte and Louis. A photo-op of the new babies and their parents on the steps of the hospital has also become a tradition.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their new baby boy – Prince George at the Lindo Wing in 2013
4) When William was just nine months old, he set a new family tradition. His parents took him along on their royal tour of Australia and New Zealand. Normally, royal children were left behind for these intense weeks of duties.
5) He went to the University of St Andrews, studying Art History, but soon changed to a Geography course. He graduated with a Scottish Masters of Arts degree with 2:2.
6) William was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4th August 1982, the same date as the 82nd birthday of his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
7) He is a fan of surfing. William enjoyed the sport quite often while he was studying at St. Andrew’s, and was even spotted surfing with friends in 2011, in what is thought to have been his stag do.
8) On 3rd Jun 1991, William was admitted to Royal Berkshire Hospital after being hit on the forehead with a gold club! A fellow student caused a depressed fracture of the skull, and the young Royal was operated on at Great Ormond Street Hospital, resulting in a permanent scar. In 2009, he described his scar as a ‘Harry Potter scar’. He said: “I call it that because it glows sometimes and some people notice it, other times they don’t notice it at all.”
9) In December 2006, William completed 44 weeks of training as an officer cadet at Sandhurst, and was commissioned in the Blues and Royals regiment. In April 2008, he qualified as a pilot by completing pilot training at RAF College Cranwell.
10) In 2015, the Duke took on a full-time role as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), based at Cambridge Airport. He worked as an air ambulance pilot for two years, making him the first future heir to the throne to hold a civilian job. William donated his salary from those two years to charity.
11) The Duke of Cambridge is an accomplished polo player, regularly taking part in matches for charity.
Prince William and Prince Harry play polo on the second day of the Audi Polo Challenge at Coworth Park, Ascot in 2017. (Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images)
