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Prince William
With
rumors of an imminent wedding and recent news that his
grandmother may be favoring him over Prince Charles as the next
heir to the British throne Prince William of Wales is the
son of Prince
Charles and the late Princess
Diana.
As
the grandson of Queen
Elizabeth II, William is officially second in line of succession
to the British throne before his father, Charles, and ahead of
brother Prince
Harry, who is third in line.
However,
in December 2009 secret palace documents revealed by the UK press
has led to strong speculation that William
may "represent the best long-term interests of the monarchy,"
and favors him over his father, Charles, as the next succesor
to the British throne. The speculation also raises new questions
about the timing of Williams much-anticipated engagement
to girlfriend Kate Middleton as he is prepared for the possible
eventuality of being crowned King of England.
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.
To date, Middleton
have already met William's grandparents, Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and in the past has frequently
appeared on the arm of her boyfriend at official royal ceremonies.
Initial wedding
rumors William was about to propose marriage to girlfriend Kate
Middleton fizzled early in 2007 with the heartbreaking news of
a sudden
split. However, reports several months later had the couple
seeing each other yet again. Subsequent
news that Middleton had
left her job in the fashion industry in November 2007 served
only to reignite the rumors of an impending marriage.
In August
2008, Kate & William were again photographed together during
a
summer fling in the Caribbean island of Mustique. Meanwhile,
reports also circulated that grandmother Queen Elizabeth expressed
a private desire that Middleton
first secure a "proper full-time job" before the
couple announce their apparent impending engagement.
William
& Kate secretly engaged in 2009?
Pending an official announcment, wedding buzz has centered around
a report from the March 2009 edition of the upscale French magazine,
Point de Vue, claiming that William and Kate had already secretly
become engaged in January and that an announcement
"of the marriage between William and Miss Katherine Middleton"
was imminent.
Other more
recent tabloid stories have William and Kate tying the knot 2012,
after William has completed his military service, and established
himself as a working member of the British royal family. Perhaps
by no mere coincidence, the wedding
is reported to dovetail with plans to celebrate the Queen's Diamond
Jubillee in 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of the reign
of Queen Elizabeth II.
Related rumors
about a possible location for the royal wedding place William
and Kate on the altar of St. Paul's Cathedral in London,
in the exact location where Princess Diana and Princes Charles
were married in 1981.
Related
Prince William News, Bios & Pictures | Prince
William 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 funeral.
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 concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of
Princess Diana.
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