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MAIN
People
in the News
Prince William
In
the news for a
possible rekindled
romance with girlfriend Kate Middleton, and for a controversial
secret
trip to Afghanistan, Prince William of Wales is the son of
Prince
Charles and the late Princess
Diana.
As
the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, William is second in line
of succession to the British throne ahead of his brother, Harry,
who is third in line.
Wedding
rumors that the heir to the British throne was about to propose
marriage to girlfriend Kate Middleton, a London
commoner, fizzled early in 2007 with the news of a sudden
breakup.
Wedding
Bets Off, then On
Kate
Middleton, (nicknamed "Her Shyness"), and Prince
William met while studying at the University of St Andrews in
Scotland. The romance flowered when they later shared a house
together.
Middleton
had already met William's grandparents, Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and in the past year has frequently
appeared on the arm of her boyfriend at official royal ceremonies.
Despite their
split in April, reports in June had the couple seeing each other
yet again, as Middleton was said to be secretly visiting William
at the Dorset army barracks where he is stationed. Most recently,
news that Middleton had
left her job in the fashion industry in November 2007 served
to only reignite the rumors of an impending marriage.
A Concert
for Diana
Earlier, Middleton
appeared at the memorial
concert for William's mother, Princess Diana, to mark what
would have been her 46th birthday on July 1, 2007. Proceeds from
the event will be donated Princess Diana's favorite charities.
In the U.S.,
complete coverage was aired on NBC accompanied by exclusive interviews
with Prince William and Prince Harry.
Related
News, Bios & Pictures | Quotes

Princess
Diana holds
baby William, 1982.
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William has
been in the media spotlight since his birth on June 21, 1982.
Early on,
he made history when he became the first royal prince to attend
an ordinary primary school at the insistence of his mother, Princess
Diana. (Reportedly, Diana's famous disdain for official royal
protocol has also been inherited by both William and his brother,
Harry.)
By age eight,
Prince William was sent to Ludgrove School in Berkshire, later
attending the prestigious Eton
College near Windsor Castle, one of his grandmother's official
residences.
It was during
his time that William lost his mother to a tragic car crash in
Paris on August 31, 1997 - plunging almost the whole of Great
Britain into mourning.
It was Prince
William who, it was said, made arrangements for Elton John to
sing "Candle in the Wind" at his Princess Diana's funera.
He later walked with his father, brother and grandfather in the
London funeral procession.

Prince
William at 21.
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In 2000, Prince
William graduated from Eton and passed three A-level exams, afterwhich
he chose to take a gap year to travel and participate in army
training in Belize.
Photos
of the royal prince - performing manual labor and cleaning toilets
- were broadcast around the globe that same year when William
offered his services as a volunteer in a remote region of Chile.
In 2001, the
prince embarked on his final course of education at the University
of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where he studied art history
and majored in geography. He ultimately took his master's degree
with second-level honors in 2005. The
colorful, traditional graduation
ceremony was attended by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth
II and his father, Prince Charles.
Kate
Middleton graduated in the same ceremony.
In 2006, William
went on to also graduate military training at Sandhurst, the prestigious
military academy south of London, from which his younger brother,
Harry,
graduated as a 2nd lieutenant.
Related
Biographies:
The
Prince of Wales - Prince William
Prince
William of Wales - Wikipedia
Prince
William Photo Gallery
Hello!
Profiles - Prince William
PrinceWilliamStamps.com
Quotes:
The fortunate thing is I have had such a normal childhood in certain
extents and it would very hard to see that slip away.
The last thing I want to do is be mollycoddled or wrapped up in
cotton wool because if I was to join the army, I'd want to go
where my men went and I'd want to do what they did.
It's got to be the best birthday present she ever had.
On the planned concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the
death of Princess Diana.
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