Prince William
In
this essay, Prince William will be
discussed based on information obtained
through research on him and his
family including general and personal
information on him, his schooling and
the important influences in his life.
Prince
William Arthur Phillip Louis Windsor is one of the most known people in
the
world – despite the fact that he is only sixteen. This essay contains
general
information on Prince William, personal information, Prince
Williams’s
education and his life story – obtained from various magazine
articles
throughout his life. General information will include who Prince
William is,
where he was born, different forms of his name, and what other
monarchists he is
related to and how he is related to them. For personal
information, Prince
William’s physical description, his "likes and
dislikes," and his
personality will be discussed. His childhood schools will
be mentioned and a
description of Eton College will be included. The public
can often obtain as
much information on a famous person's life as they want
and because of this
abundance of information, Prince William's life will be
detailed along with his
influences in his life like Princess Diana, Prince
Charles, Queen Elizabeth,
Prince Henry, and Alexandria "Tiggy"
Legge-Bourke.
"History-to-History" will include another member of the royal
family
born in 1066 named William I "the Conqueror," who was as famous
during
his ruling period as much as Prince William is in the 1990s. This
essay will
cover the above topics. Prince William of Whales is second in line
of
inheritance to the British throne after Prince Charles of Whales, who is
first.
He was born June 21, 1982 at 9:03 p.m. weighing seven pounds, ten
ounces at
Saint Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London after his mother
endured seventeen
hours of labor. When he was born, his father, Prince
Charles said "Nearly
seventeen hours is a long time to wait ... Obviously, I
am relieved,
delighted.... I think it is marvelous. It is rather a grown-up
thing, I have
found. It is rather a shock." His christening occurred at
Buckingham Palace
on August 4, 1982. When Prince William was born, Prince
Charles gave a press
conference, as the entire country was excited with the
birth of another
potential King. A press member asked, "Does the baby have
hair?"
"It's blonde, sort of fairish," Prince Charles responded. "Have
you
picked a name yet?" Smiling, Charles replied, each word measured:
"We have a
few names in mind. You will have to ask my wife about that.
There is an
argument about it." Someone in the crowd yelled, "Is he
the most beautiful
baby in the world?" The Prince grinned, "He's not
bad." "Is he like his dad?"
someone else asked. "No,"
the Prince shot back. "He's lucky not to be." Then
someone shouted,
"Give us another one, Charlie!" implying that the country
wanted more
than just one possible King. Prince Charles shook his head then
said,
"You'll have to ask my wife about that...." He let his words drift
for
a moment and then shot back: "Bloody hell, give us a
chance!"
Currently, Prince William boards at Eton College, a high profile
school with
other students that have just as much wealth and social standing
as he has. He
can live at Saint James's Palace at Highgrove, Gloucestershire
in Whales or, of
course, he can stay the weekend at Grandmother's home,
Buckingham Palace. Prince
William has an extremely long name – three
different versions. The first and
most used is Prince William Arthur Phillip
Louis Windsor. The second, which is
used less, is Prince William Arthur
Phillip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor. The
reason for this second version's
extension is that the royal family once signed
a decree stating that after
Queen Elizabeth's grandmother, the royal family
would have the name of
Windsor. However, another decree was signed confusing
royal experts, so the
name became Mountbatten-Windsor. The Queen has given no
clarification on
whether Mountbatten-Windsor or simply Windsor will be used. The
third form,
and longest, is a genealogical interpretation which means that he
does not
regularly use it, but nonetheless, it is his family's name:
Prince
William Arthur Phillip
Louis
Schlesweig-Hostein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
However, his formal
title – what visitors call him, or what he is to be
officially referred to as,
is "His Royal Highness Prince William of Whales.
Everyone has nicknames and
so does a Prince: "Wills," "Wombat,"
"Billy,"
"Billy the Basher," "The Prince of Wails" and
"His
Naughtiness" from childhood. More recently, his nicknames have
been
"His Royal Sighness" and "His Royal Hotness." Prince William
is
related to a line of high profile individuals like the Queen Elizabeth
of
England, Prince Charles of Whales, and the late Princess Diana of
Whales. In
addition, he has a nanny named "Tiggy" who is not famous but
very
prominent in Prince William's life especially after the death of his
mother.
Queen Elizabeth is, of course, the Queen of England and the
richest woman in the
world. She is the grandmother of Prince William and sole
protector – in her
own thoughts – of her grandson. Prince William's father is
Prince Charles of
Whales. Prince William also has personal information
obtained from interviews
with the press and written questionnaires from the
press. There is an abundance
of facts on the Internet including particular
information that should not be
posted anywhere. Prince William is six feet,
one inch tall and weighs one
hundred and thirty-two pounds. His hair color is
sandy blonde and his eye color
is hazel. Most people think his eyes are blue
but because photographs of him are
generally altered to increase sells of
magazines, it is not wise to look at
photographs in them. The reason for the
altering is to conform to the belief
that most people believe that blonde
hair and blue eyes is considered the most
beautiful kind of people. Prince
Williams' favorite color is either dark green
or blue like most other
teenagers. Like most Americans also, Prince William
likes fast cars. He has a
dog named Widgeon, a five-year-old Labrador, who is
seen on nearly all of
Prince William's hunting trips. He likes pasta,
hamburgers, chocolate,
venison, fruit salad and poached eggs from hens on his
father's estate and
when drinking, he prefers Coke or red wine. Prince William's
hobbies and
sports include shooting, which he likes more than anything, skiing,
soccer,
hockey, rafting, rowing on the Thames River, and swimming. He also likes
to
paint and it is rumored that he is learning the art quite rapidly
and
becoming somewhat accomplished. Prince William has two personalities –
one in
public and one in private. When in public, he is jumpy and constantly
worried
about the media because he does not like them taking his picture.
Although he
presents himself very well in public, he has a hard time facing
the cameras
which will inevitably lead to the press getting more dangerous
when trying to
get that "perfect picture." Whenever in private, Prince
William is
said to be "outgoing and caring" and he enjoys company with his
loyal
friends. Of course, none of this information on his private life can
be
supported with concrete evidence because there are no pictures or
witnesses to
it. As for anyone, education must be very prominent to lead a
successful life.
Prince William’s life is currently centered on education
because, like any
sixteen-year-old, he must complete school. Prince William,
being royalty, has
attended and is currently attending the finest schools in
Europe. At the age of
three, or from 1985 through 1987, Prince William went
to Mrs. Mynor’s Nursery
school in West London. From 1987 through 1990, he
attended Wetherby School in
Kensington, London and from 1990 through
1995, he attended Ludgrove School in
Wokingham. Now, Prince William
attends Eton College where, for Americans, is
comparable to a very expensive
private school costing anywhere from twenty
thousand dollars to twenty five
thousand dollars per term and an additional
three thousand dollars for
uniforms. Prince William's exclusive boarding school
has more than one
thousand two hundred students. There are two swimming pools, a
golf course
and dozens of soccer, rugby, and cricket fields. Prince William
lives in an
ivy-covered dorm called Manor House with forty-nine other people.
When
Prince William entered Eton College, he was around thirteen, like many
others
who enroll there. These groups of boys are referred to as "The
Lower
Boys," and are in the "F" block of the school curriculum.
This
first school year of Eton College is roughly equivalent to the junior
year of an
American high school. Eventually, the boys move up from the
"F" block
to the "E," "D," "C" and finally the "B"
block when, after that,
he usually continues his education at a university
although many former
Etonians have taken a year off, known as "the gap
year." Students, despite
their wealth, power and potential to destroy the
name of Eton College, are
kept on a strict schedule. Much like we have class
periods, Eton College
divides their school day into different
"schools" and not periods. In the
autumn term, the school day starts
at 7:30 a.m. for "First School," and then
after their first period,
the students have breakfast at 8:15 a.m. Chapel
starts at 9:20 a.m. and at 9:40
a.m., "Second School" starts. At 10:30 a.m.,
the students have a
fifteen-minute break. After their small break, "Third
School" starts
at 10:55 a.m. and "Fourth School" is at 11:55 a.m. At 1:00
p.m., the
students have Dinner, at 3:30 p.m., "Fifth School" begins and
then,
4:15 p.m. is reserved for tea. Beginning at 5:00 p.m. is
"SixthSchool" and an hour later, at 6:00 p.m., they have a forty-five
minute
study period. At 7:45 p.m., the student's supper is served. Then, 8:00
p.m. the
school is required to have house prayers. At 8:30 p.m., there is
another study
period, and finally, the day ends at 10:00 p.m. when all lights
are ordered off.
The "Fifth School" and "Sixth School" are on the
whole
school days only. In winter, spring and summer, the hours are slightly
modified;
for instance, teatime for the summer is at 4:45 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.
Prince
William's life is indeed intriguing and his life's details would
be interesting.
Being a Prince, alone makes anyone famous and well known.
However, Prince
William is related to the most charitable woman in the
world, his mother,
Princess Diana who he loved very much. Prince Charles,
Queen Elizabeth, Prince
Henry, his brother and his "nanny," Alexandria
Legge-Bourke are also
great influences in Prince William's life. As most
fathers have the greatest
predominance in a boy's life, Prince Charles will
be discussed first. Prince
William adores his father very much and now
that his mother is gone, Prince
William and Prince Charles will grow so
much closer. Prince William is said to
be more comfortable with his father
than anyone else – for the reason of
photographers: When Prince William is
with he father, he is photographed much
less than when he was with his "mum."
Prince William also enjoys being
with his dad at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Prince William is said to keep his
emotions inside like Prince Charles.
Prince William is said to get his love for
the outdoors, fishing and fast
cars from Prince Charles. Prince William's father
has been said not to be a
worthy parent and not as fun loving as Diana – but
many times he has proven
that wrong. Recently, Prince Charles let Prince William
drive a Land Rover on
the Balmoral Estate at an estimated seventy-five miles per
hour. Many claim
that Prince Charles has trouble showing his feelings because of
his childhood
– feelings were not allowed to be shown in public and one famous
picture that
details this is when Prince Charles was four and after not seeing
his mother
for a few months, she stepped off a plane to shake his hand and
straighten
his collar. In 1991, Price William was accidentally struck in the
head with a
golf club when a fellow schoolmate was swinging it around his head
and Prince
William happened to be in the way. Princess Diana got behind the
wheel of her
Jaguar and sped thirty-six miles to the hospital and Prince Charles
was
driven to the hospital in his Aston Martin. Princess Diana stayed in
the
hospital for two days with Prince William and Prince Charles left before
the
seventy minute operation to repair Prince William's
"depressed
fracture" to go to an opera concert that had been planned two
months
before. Then, Prince Charles came back, visited Prince William for
forty-two
minutes and left for another "private engagement." The next
day,
headlines were screaming with "WHAT KIND OF A DAD ARE YOU?"
type
articles. At Christmas, Princess Diana was alone and heard Prince
Henry's solo
at the school Christmas concert. Over the Easter break, Prince
Diana and the
boys were on their own again, except for a brief appearance
with Prince Charles
at church. "There's a certain kind of Englishman who
doesn't take a lot of
interest in his sons until they're able to kick a rugby
ball, or in his case,
swing a polo mallet. The only public sign of affection
Charles has shown was
last year when he saw they boys playing a makeshift
game of horse-less polo. He
called them over and patted them on the head.
Charles does begin to look
increasingly like that rather disappointing,
repressed, uptight
Englishman." Dr. Ronald Levant has said that with
fathers like Prince
Charles, children often grow up having problems
forming intimate relationships
with their wives and children. He also said
that the children will repeat what
their father did "whether they like it or
not." However Levant adds,
"all kids really need is one adult who's
absolutely nuts about them"
and that, in the person of their doting mother,
William and Harry certainly
have. To be fair, most of Prince Charles's sins
are those of omission. Royals
before him have treated their children the
exact same way. If that is the case,
Charles and his sons are merely
trapped in a pattern that has nothing to do with
the 1990s ideal of
fatherhood, but has been part of the royal family fabric for
generations.
None the three – Prince Charles, Prince William, or Prince Henry
– has ever
known anything different, or probably ever will. The next most
instrumental
person in Prince William's life, and perhaps the most memorable of
his
family, was his mother, Princess Diana of Whales. The person that
Prince
William loved, adored, admired and all around cared about the most
was his
mother – Diana, Princess of Whales. When Princess Diana was watching
her
marriage fall apart, she said that the only joy she got in life was
playing the
baby "Wills." Unlike Prince Charles, Princess Diana's devotion to
her
firstborn is seen on countless occasions. They regularly went on
holidays
together without Prince Charles, and much to Prince William's joy,
Princess
Diana always took part in the annual sports events of his
school. One night
Diana locked herself in a palace bathroom and cried
over her failing marriage.
Prince William shoved tissues under the door
for her and a note that read,
"Please don't cry. I hate to see you sad." At
age nine, Prince William
called his mother's favorite restaurant and made
reservations for the two of
them. "Come on, Mummy," he said to Princess
Diana. "We're going
for lunch at your favorite restaurant, and I've already
booked a table."
This incident highlighted their special relationship.
Now that bond has been
further strengthened by the royal couple's marital
rift. Diana was very shy and
hated her picture continuously taken – Prince
William has the same hatred.
They both walk with their heads down near
photographers. However, when they did
not mind getting their pictures taken,
both had their heads up and were smiling.
Prince William gets his natural
admirable looks and sense of style from the most
fashionable woman in the
world – his mother. His mother took time out To Whom
It May Concern: be
with Prince William and his younger brother – Prince
William was even the
first royal baby to go on tours with his parents on order
of his mother.
Diana usually let most fights with the royal family go instead of
fight them
all the way – but she never quit fighting when it came to her boys.
Diana
took Prince William and Prince Harry to homeless shelters and out with her
on
travels to people who were less fortunate. Prince William learned to love
and
learn what others love through his mother's teachings and he shared
numerous
interests with his mother – including tennis, famous stars, music
and people.
Diana taught Prince William what life was like when one is
not a royal – by
taking him to McDonald's and to theme parks. As noted in one
incident, Prince
Henry and Prince William served beef curry to the needy
as they visited a
homeless shelter with their mother. It was said that
Princess Diana
"brought her kids back down to earth" after their week-long
skiing
trip by showing the two how teenagers struggle on London's streets.
Princess
Diana broke numerous traditions and let the royal family witness
what
"different" really was. For instance, Prince William was born with
a
British Prime Minister present and Prince Diana was the first mother in
the
royal family to give birth to a direct heir to the British throne without
myriad
witnesses present. Princess Diana had broken another tradition when
she decided
that breast feeding her newborn was the best way. Like all royal
children,
Prince William had a nanny, but a tradition had been broken
here, too. Princess
Diana insisted on choosing her own nanny, turning
down the suggestions of the
Queen. Princess Diana was facing a
heartbreaking future, being increasingly cut
off from her sons, when her and
Prince Charles were having marital problems.
Buckingham Palace was
tightening its grip on Prince William and Prince Henry's
lives to limit her
influence on them. Although Prince Diana shared custody of
the boys in her
separation from Prince Charles, they spent less time with her as
they were
being groomed to become senior members of the monarchy. As royal
expert
Harold Brooks-Baker said, "Prince William has a future as the heir
to the
throne and there is very little the Princess of Whales can teach him
about
that. Prince Henry will follow the same path. Only their father and
his
family can teach them that, and the Princess's influence will
become
marginal." On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was on her way to
England to
see her boys in a Mercedes Benz followed by the paparazzi. The
driver,
supposedly intoxicated, was driving at a horrendous speed of one
hundred and
twenty miles per hour when he lost control of the car and slammed
into a support
beam of a bridge. One of the three passengers of the car was
pronounced dead at
the scene and only two remained, Princess Diana and her
bodyguard. Barely alive,
Princess Diana was rushed to the hospital while
the paramedics started an
operation trying to save her life in the ambulance.
British Foreign Secretary
Robin Cook awakened Prince Charles shortly
after midnight in Scotland, within an
hour of the accident. Prince Charles
then awoke the Queen and both went to the
drawing room. When Princess Diana's
condition was described as grave, Prince
Charles decided to awake the
children.