William, Prince of Wales

William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.

William was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. He was educated at Wetherby School, Ludgrove School and Eton College. He earned a Master of Arts degree in geography at the University of St Andrews where he met his future wife, Catherine Middleton. They have three children: George, Charlotte and Louis.

After university, William trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst prior to serving with the Blues and Royals. In 2008 he graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, joining the RAF Search and Rescue Force in early 2009. He served as a full-time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance for two years from July 2015.

William performs official duties and engagements on behalf of the monarch. He is patron of multiple charitable and military organisations, including the Tusk Trust, Centrepoint, The Passage, Wales Air Ambulance and London's Air Ambulance Charity. Through the Royal Foundation, his work focuses on mental health, conservation, homelessness, and emergency workers. In 2020 William launched the Earthshot Prize, a £50 million initiative to incentivise environmental solutions.

William was made Duke of Cambridge immediately before his wedding in April 2011. He became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay upon his father's accession to the throne on 8 September 2022. The following day he was made Prince of Wales.

William was born at 9:03 pm on 21 June 1982 at St Mary's Hospital, London, as the first child of Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. He was the first direct heir to the British throne to be born in a hospital. Buckingham Palace announced his name – William Arthur Philip Louis – on 28 June. William was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, on 4 August, coinciding with the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

William was the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Wales since Prince John was born to Prince George and Princess Mary (later King George V and Queen Mary) in July 1905. When he was nine months old, William accompanied his parents on their 1983 tour of Australia and New Zealand, as his first trip overseas. It also marked the first time that a royal baby was taken on an overseas tour. Family photographs of William and his parents on the grounds of Government House in Auckland, New Zealand, received significant global coverage, and have been identified as a major reason why the Buzzy Bee, the toy which William was playing with, became a New Zealand cultural icon.

His younger brother, Prince Harry, was born in September 1984. Both of them were raised at Kensington Palace in London, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.