Prince William The Future King Comes of Age


IS IT POSSIBLE? Prince William is turning 21. The mischievous, flaxen-haired tyke (known as "His Naughtiness") who became an extraordinarily handsome 6'2? teenage pinup ("His Sighness") will become a full-fledged adult on the summer solstice, June 21.

Not that William is venturing full tilt into grown-up duties. He still has two more years at St. Andrews University in Scotland, where he is studying history of art and geography. But neither is he a completely carefree lad: Protected by bodyguards and shadowed by the press, he has to work hard to keep his private life private. So far, he's succeeded remarkably well, managing to be ultra-discreet about everything from romantic pursuits to his living arrangements and off-hours entertainment. (News on that front tends to consist of such bulletins as: He was seen having bacon rolls and tea--or maybe a pint of beer--in the town of St. Andrews.)

One day, he will be William V, King of England--although as second in line to the throne (after his father, Prince Charles), he may well be middle-aged, at best, when his coronation comes. Meanwhile, he must carve out some kind of career and begin preparing, in both small ways and large, to one day wear the crown. And there's another matter he must tend to, one that all Britain seems to be waiting for: his choice of a wife. When he does marry, hopefully his union will be happier than that of his own parents.

It's all a huge burden for his young shoulders--broad though they may be. So it's not surprising that William's intent on protecting his less-pressured days and his youthful pursuits while he still can. For example, details on how he will celebrate his birthday are scant. The Royal Mail has announced it will issue a 28--pence (44 cents) commemorative stamp to celebrate his royal "coming of age," but William seems to want the public festivities to end there. He reportedly quashed a proposal for a charity rock concert, saying he considered the day to be "private."

Followers of the royal family characterize William as sensitive, well-balanced, confident, charming, responsible, and extremely wary of the media and those who might try to use him. As he entered college, he said in an interview, "People who try to take advantage of me and get a piece of me--I spot it quickly and soon go off them."

He also doesn't lean heavily on his royal status. While at St. Andrews, he asked to be called simply William Wales, shelving for a future time the HRH (His Royal Highness) to which he's entitled. He doesn't have an equerry, valet, or chauffeur (as his father did at his age) and shares an apartment with three close friends while driving his own Volkswagen. His first year he lived in a drab dorm room like every other freshman (albeit with bodyguards nearby). Ii the "gap year" between high school and college he was even more unpretentious, traveling to Patagonia to do community work in a remote village, working on a dairy farm in England (where he earned the minimum wage), and then studying wildlife and game conservation in Africa.

William has done all this in the aftermath of the shocking death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a car accident when he was 15. Then he had to weather the subsequent betrayals by once-trusted palace functionaries like her chief bodyguard Ken Wharfe, who wrote a tell-all book, or her former private secretary, Patrick Jephson, who wrote another Diana exposé, or her former butler, Paul Burrell, who decided to sell his story to the press.

But William seems to have avoided becoming bogged down in bitterness, focusing instead on family, loyalty, and his responsibilities as future king--a role he was, quite literally, born to.

The baby christened William Arthur Philip Louis entered the world at 9:03 P.M. on June 21, 1982, in a private wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London. His birthplace was significant: He was the first infant directly in line for the throne to be delivered--at his mother's insistence--in a hospital rather than a royal residence.

When he was 2, a younger brother, Prince Harry (or, more formally, Henry Charles Albert David), arrived, meaning Charles and Diana now had "the heir and the spare."

As a young boy, William's mischievous side quickly surfaced: He once flushed his father's shoes down the toilet and was nicknamed "The Basher" at Mrs. Mynor's nursery school. But just the fact that he attended nursery school was groundbreaking. Once again Diana defied palace tradition--which said the future king should be tutored at home--to place him with a diverse group of other boys his age. That was a recurring theme throughout her time with her sons as she attempted to expose them to all aspects of life, from fast-food restaurants and amusement parks to AIDS hospitals and housing projects.

A bright and diligent student, William learned to read at 5 and entered Ludgrove boarding school at 8. From there he went on to Eton (where Harry later enrolled with less academic success) and managed a B-plus average while excelling at sports, including breaking two Eton swim records.

But it was probably his "gap year" that gave him his closest brush with normalcy--or at least what it felt like to be treated the same as all the other blokes. First, he spent 10 weeks in the remote Chilean community of Tortel, working on such projects as building wooden walkways, painting buildings, and teaching the village children English. Like all the other volunteers. William spent the night in a sleeping hag in an old nursery-school classroom and took his turn cooking, chopping wood, and cleaning toilets.

"I just don't like being treated any different at all," he explained in a television interview from Tortel. "I love having no restrictions here. There's no one chasing me around or anything."

At his next stop, the British dairy farm, the future king milked cows. Then, during his four months in Africa, he did everything from joining and-poaching patrols to learning how to care for wounded elephants.

In the fall of 2001, William entered St. Andrews, a 6,000-student university founded in 1411 and located in the Scottish countryside about 55 miles from Edinburgh. When it was announced he would enroll there, applications jumped 44%--with an especially large increase from young women.

If William is seeing any one of them in particular, though, he's done a good job of hiding it. One of his three flatmates this year is Kate Middleton, a striking brunet who modeled a see-through dress last year for a St. Andrews charity fashion show. However, she's been described as a "firm friend" rather than a romantic interest. Last winter, he invited 15 friends (including 6 women) to a shooting-party weekend on one of the royal properties, but again the female guests seemed more like pals than potential princesses.

There has, of course, been much speculation about who might be suitable for William, ranging from young British aristocrats with hyphenated names to international royalty (see sidebar). There's no doubt the blue-eyed prince leaves young women breathless and, on some public occasions, can elicit Female screams worthy of a rock star. By several accounts, he's attracted to tall, leggy blonds who often are versed in polo or country pursuits, two worlds in which he is extremely comfortable.

But that doesn't mean he has a set of requirements for those around him. "It's not as if I choose my friends on the basis of where they are from or what they are," he said in a pre-university interview. "It's about their character and who they are and whether we get on."

Dating and academics are far from his only concerns, of course. In the wake of September 11, security around the world's most famous prince stepped up amid fears that he could be a target for terrorists. As a university student living in a private residence, he is potentially the most vulnerable member of the royal family--and consequently additional teams of armed bodyguards have been added to his protection team.

William also must give some thought to post-graduation opportunities. The British press has reported that he plans to follow a military path and will enlist in the Welsh Guards, but he's also expressed interest in "doing something with the environment."

Whatever career he chooses, he may have quite a few years to pursue it. Given that his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, is in excellent health at 77 and comes from a long-lived family (her mother, the Queen Mum, died last year at 101), it seems likely that she may serve for decades to come. In fact, she's already announced she has no intention of abdicating in favor of Charles. If she continues on, that would likely give Charles, already 54, a short time on the throne but still put William in his 40s or 50s before he is crowned. There have been polls that say up to one-third of Britons think William, rather than his father, should succeed the queen. But right now that seems unlikely.

Meanwhile, he enjoys close family ties with brother Harry and his father (and reportedly gets along with Charles' longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles). And the teenager who evoked tears when he walked solemnly behind his mother's coffin still reflects her every day--in his striking blond looks, his shy smile, and his magic bond with people.

Who Will Prince William Marry?

It's a question that has the whole world guessing, even if the answer may be years away. There are, of course, any number of women being touted as potential brides for the world's most eligible bachelor, ranging from the realistic to the highly speculative. Given that times are changing, and that William's father didn't marry a fellow royal, chances are good he won't have to either--which only widens the list of candidates. Here are some possibilities:

A British woman drawn from the worlds of pate or country living. Names bandied about here include Natalie Hicks-Lobbecke, Emma Tomlinson, Arabella Musgrave, and Amanda Bush. The odds? Who knows? In public, at least, he treats them all as friends.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden. The knockout younger daughter of King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia (and born just 11 days before William), she knows all about royal life and shares his interest In riding. However, the Stockholm University art student is reportedly dating someone else. Her older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, is another possibility, but since she will inherit the Swedish throne, two kingdoms in one marriage are probably one too many.

Charlotte Casiraghi. The 16-year-old daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco inherited the luminous looks and effortless style of both her mother and her grandmother, Grace Kelly. Like William, she's lost a parent (her father died in a speedboat accident when she was 4). But her Roman Catholic faith could cause a constitutional crisis if William, as titular head of the Church of England. should choose her.

Athina Roussel. When she turned 18 last January, she became one of the world's richest young women, inheriting an Onassis family fortune (her grandfather was Aristotle Onassis) estimated between $800 million and $1 billion. She's passionate about horses and a talented equestrienne, but seems to care little for being in the public eye. She's also been romantically linked to a Brazilian show-jumping champion 11 years her senior.

Rose Schlossberg. This is pure wishful thinking, but just imagine a dynasty linking the offspring of Princess Diana and Caroline Kennedy. Rose, who turns 15 this month, is a high-school student in New York and a dark-haired beauty who evokes memories of her grandmother, Jacqueline Kennedy.

Source: Biography, Jun2003, Vol. 7 Issue 6, p48
Janet Cawley