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Running head: PRINCE WILLIAM: HIS LIFE AS ROYALTY

Prince William: His Life as Royalty

Joshua B. Creel

Shaw High School

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Prince William: His Life as Royalty

Throughout his life, Prince William has been an important figure in the public eye

because of his royal heritage, but this should not be his most note-worthy trait. Prince

William has done many things in his short life that are worthy of the public’s attention,

though most people still remain oblivious to these events. From getting himself and his

family through Princess Diana’s death in August 1997 to graduating from the Royal

Military Academy Sandhurst as a fully operational RAF Search and Rescue Pilot. These

are just a couple of events that the Prince has achieved or gotten himself through, only to

come out as a better person on the other side.

On the date of July 29, 1981, Prince Charles, aged 32, marries Lady Diana

Spencer, aged 20, in a very lavish wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral with 750 million

people tuning in worldwide to watch the event. About a year later, the royals welcomed

their first son, Prince William, into the world. He would be second-in-line for the British

throne, after his father. Two years later, in 1984, the couple welcomed their second son,

Prince Harry.

Prince William, born as William Arthur Philip Louis, was born at St. Mary’s

Hospital in London, England on June 21, 1982. He was the first of two children to be

born to Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Wales, and from his birth they wanted him

to have as normal a life as possible. Prince William was the first heir to the British

throne to be born in a hospital (or to wear disposable diapers or attend nursery school).

Prince William’s childhood was fairly normal; he was chaperoned around the world by

his mother and father, visited many exotic countries in his youth and during school

breaks. Nothing excessively exciting happened in Prince William’s youth.

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Several weeks before Prince William, aged 10, and Prince Harry, aged 8, returned

to boarding school, Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their plans on

separating. The remained of the Princes’ Christmas vacation was split between their

feuding parents. Charles told the BBC I 1994 that he had “never loved his princess

bride”, while Diana told journalist Martin Bashir, “There were three us in this marriage,

so it was a bit over-crowded,” referring to Charles’ long-time love Camilla Parker

Bowles (http://www.people.com/people/prince_william/biography). After nearly 15

years of being wedded, Charles’ and Diana’s divorce was finalized. The royal ex’s

agreed to share custody of their sons. In addition, there were reports that Charles paid

Diana a lump sum of $26.35 million and about $620,000 a year to run her private office

(http://www.people.com/people/prince_william/biography). Diana still managed to lose

her title HRH (“Her Royal Highness”) over the divorce.

In a high-speed paparazzi car-chase on the date of August 31, 1997, Diana and her

companion Dadi Fayed, heir to the owner of Herrod’s, were killed in the Place de l’Ami

in Paris, France. Following her death, Charles flew to Paris to retrieve her body for

burial in London. Prince William was only 15, and his brother Harry only 13, when their

mother passed away. Both Prince William and Prince Harry walked behind their

mother’s cortège at her funeral, which was held at Westminster Abbey on September 6,

1997. Prince Charles draped the royal standard over her coffin at the funeral,

acknowledging in her death her status as a member of the royal family.

The first school Prince William attended was Mrs. Mynor’s Nursery School in

London, England, which he attended for two years from September 24, 1985, aged 3.

While in attendance at Mrs. Mynor’s, Prince William participated in two school plays,
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both attended to by his parents and younger brother Harry, one of which he also sang a

musical solo in. From January 1987 through July 1989, Prince William was enrolled at

Wetherby School, where he was noted to have talent in the fields of English and spelling

(http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/princewilliamprinceharry/princewillia

m/index.html). After Wetherby, Prince William attended Ludgrove from September

1990 to July 1995. It was at Ludgrove that Prince William proved himself to be am

excellent athlete. At Ludgrove, he was on the school’s soccer, basketball, and swimming

teams, and became captain of the hockey and rugby teams

(http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/England/Windsor/William.html). He also participated in

several school plays, clay pigeon shooting, and running on the cross country team.

During his time at Ludgrove, while golfing on June 3, 1991, Prince William was

admitted to the Royal Berkshire Hospital with a head injury. While playing with a friend

on the green, Prince William was hit on the head with a club. He suffered from a

depressed fracture on his forehead, but he was not knocked out by the blow. He was

transferred by ambulance to the hospital, where he received the proper treatment for his

injuries and made a full recovery.

Prince William attended Eton College from September 1995 to June 2000. From

the summer after his penultimate year at Eton, Prince William held a number of

responsibilities: He was secretary of the Agricultural Society, Joint Keeper (captain) of

swimming, House Captain of Games, and House Captain (in April 2000). He also held

one of the 21 prefect positions at Eton. (http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalp

rofiles/princewilliamprinceharry/princewilliam/index.html)
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After graduating from Eton, Prince William chose to have a gap year, just like

many other students. He used this year to travel and gain a number of new experiences.

These included preparing for survival exercises with the Welsh Guards in Belize,

working as a volunteer with Raleigh International in Chile, working on a dairy farm in

the UK and eating British Army rations. (http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/persona-

lprofiles/princewilliamprinceharry/princewilliam/index.html).

After his gap year, Prince William went on to attend St. Andrews, originally

intending on doing a 9-year course of study and Master of Arts (Honours) in Art History

degree. He began his degree in September 2001, after his gap year, and in September

2003 decided to major in Geography rather than Art History. He graduated on June 23,

2005 from St. Andrews with a Master of Arts (Honours) in Geography.

Prince William decided to undertake a programme of work experience while he

prepared for the Regular Commissions Board for entry into the Royal Military Academy

Sandhurst. This included working on a country estate to learn more about land

management, working at different financial institutions in London, and joining an RAF

Mountain Rescue Team in Wales. (http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/

princewilliamprinceharry/princewilliam/index.html)

The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry is a charitable organization

that the brother’s set up so that they could achieve the charity goals they both have. The

foundation as three main aims: helping young people in society, raising awareness and

support for servicemen and women, and developing sustainable motels of living in the

light of climate change and dwindling natural resources. (http://www.princeofwales.gov.

uk/personalprofiles/princewilliamprinceharry/princewilliam/index.html)
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On December 15, 2006, Prince William graduated (“passed out”) from the Royal

Military Academy Sandhurst. After graduation, Prince William had become a fully

operational RAF Search and Rescue pilot. Given that Prince William will one day be it’s

Head, he retains his commissions as officer in the Royal Navy and the Army.
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The Prince of Wales – Prince William. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from:

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/princewilliamprinceharry/princ

ewilliam/index.html

Prince William Biography – People.com. Retrieved November 9, 2010 from:

http://www.people.com/people/prince_william/biography

Royalty.nu – Britsih Royalty – Prince William of Wales and Prince Harry. Retrieved

November 9, 2010 from:

http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/England/Windsor/William.html