The Duke of Cambridge Celebrates 40th Birthday

The Duke of Cambridge Celebrates 40th Birthday

1. Prince William’s full name is William Arthur Philip Louis.
2. When Prince William was born on June 21, 1982 at St Mary’s, London he made history as the first direct heir to the British throne to be born in a hospital. He arrived at 9.03pm, weighing 7lb 1.5oz.
3. His parents are Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
4. On 4 August 1982, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.
5. Prince William was born as 2nd in the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Realms.
6. His title at birth was His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.
7. At nine months old, Prince William joined his parents on their official visit to Australia and New Zealand.
8. Prince William began his education at Mrs Mynors Nursery School in west London before becoming a pupil at the pre-prep Wetherby School in 1987.
9. From 1990, the young Prince attended Ludgrove School in Berkshire for five years until he started at Eton College in 1995 where he took his GCSEs and A-Levels.
10. During his time at Eton, Prince William was made a House Captain of Games, House Captain and Prefect.
11. After completing his education at Eton College, Prince William took a gap year between 2000 and 2001. He travelled around Africa, South America and the Caribbean.
12. In September 2001 The Duke of Cambridge began a four-year Master of Arts degree course in History of Art at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
13. After two years, The Duke decided to major in Geography rather than History of Art.
14. Prince William graduated in June 2005 with a 2:1 Master of Arts (Honours) in Geography after four years of study.
15. In 2001, Prince William met Miss Catherine Middleton, a fellow University of St Andrews student.
16. Following university, Prince William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an Officer Cadet.
17. The Prince was commissioned as an Army Officer in 2006, joining the Household Cavalry with the rank of a Second Lieutenant.
18. Prince William decided to pursue a flying career in the military and began training as a Search and Rescue pilot in early 2009.
19. Flight Lieutenant Wales, as he was known in the RAF, joined C Flight, 22 Squadron at RAF Valley in Anglesey in September 2010, following various skill-based training exercises and exams.
20. After leaving the Armed Forces, Prince William retrained to become an Air Ambulance Pilot and worked for East Anglian Air Ambulance from March 2015 until July 2017.
21. On 29 April 2011, Prince William married Miss Catherine Middleton.
22. On the occasion of his marriage, The Queen conferred a Dukedom on Prince William of Wales. He received the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.
23. On St. George’s Day 2008 The Queen appointed Prince William to be a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
24. In her Diamond Jubilee year, 2012, The Queen appointed His Royal Highness to the Order of the Thistle.
25. The Duke and Duchess’ first child, Prince George, was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, at 16:24 BST on 22 July 2013.
26. Princess Charlotte, the second child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was born at 08:34 BST on 2 May 2015 in Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London.
27. Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was born at 11:01 BST on 23 April 2018.
28. The Duke undertakes a number of Royal duties in support of, and at times on behalf of, The Queen.
29. Together with The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal, The Duke hosts Investitures at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle throughout the year.
30. The Duke is currently president or Royal Patron of nearly 30 organisations and institutions, which reflect his interest in their work, their importance to the nation, and issues he wishes to support.
31. In 2016, Her Majesty stepped down as Patron from a number of national organisations – the Royal African Society, Welsh Rugby Union and Amateur Swimming Association (now Swim England), these patronages were passed on to The Duke.
32. His Royal Highness carried out his first solo engagements representing The Queen in July 2005, as part of a private tour of New Zealand, where he attended ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the Second World War in New Zealand and met veterans in Wellington and Auckland.
33. Protecting the natural environment for future generations is one of Prince William’s key priorities.
34. In October 2020, His Royal Highness launched The Earthshot Prize – a new global prize for the environment – the most ambitious and prestigious of its kind – designed to incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next 10 years.
35. The Duke of Cambridge is committed to helping children and young people to build their skills, confidence and aspirations.
36. Having completed seven-and-a-half years of full-time military service, promoting the important role and the welfare of those who are serving or who have served their country in the Armed Forces is a key focus for The Duke’s charitable activities.
37. In 2017 The Duke spearheaded the Heads Together mental health campaign with The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, leading a coalition of eight mental health charity partners to change the national conversation on mental health.
38. Prince William’s face will appear on a special £5 coin to celebrate his 40th Birthday. The Queen’s face will also appear on the back of the coin.
39. Ahead of his birthday, Prince William went out on the streets of London to sell The Big Issue, to raise the issue of homelessness, with vendor Dave Martin, the news quickly went viral.
40. Prince William is likely to mark his milestone birthday privately with his wife and their three children.