30 Facts about Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

In honor of Prince William's 30th birthday on June 21st, here are 30 facts about him.

1) Prince William was born on June 21st, 1982 at 9:03 PM at St. Mary's Hospital Paddington. He weighed 7lbs 1 1/2 oz.

2) Prince William is the first direct heir to the throne to be born in hospital

3) He was christened William Arthur Philip Louis on August 4, 1982, his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother's 82nd birthday.

4) According to genealogists, William was born the most British heir to the throne since King James I.

5) He was nine months old when he accompanied his parents on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983, becoming the first royal baby to be included on an official visit.

6) Prince William was the first royal prince to attend an ordinary nursery school, rather than be educated at home.

7) During his childhood he was affectionately known as 'Wombat'

8) Just before his fourth birthday, he was made the six-millionth member of the Automobile Association and given an AA lifetime membership.

9) He started learning to ride a horse at the age of four.

10) On June 3, 1991 he was accidentally hit on the head with a golf club. To this day he retains a mark on his forehead, which he has referred to as his 'Harry Potter scar'.

11) He carried out his first official public engagement on March 1, 1991 when he accompanied his parent on a visit to Wales to celebrate St David's Day.

12) The 1997 Christie's auction of his mother's dresses was his idea.

13) He was confirmed on March 9, 1997 at St George's Chapel, Windsor

14) He passed his driving test on July 27th, 1999, just five weeks after his seventeenth birthday.

15) In 2000, on his 18th birthday, he was granted his own Coat of Arms. The design includes elements from the Spencer Coat of Arms from his mother's side of the family.

16) William has stated that his favorite part of his gap year was year was spent working as a farm labourer on a dairy farm in England with an hourly wage of £3.20, rising before dawn to milk cows and “performing mucky jobs” along with everyone else.

17) In 2003 he celebrated his 21st birthday with an African themed party hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle.

18) He is godfather to Prince Konstantine Alexios of Greece, the son of the Greek Crown Prince and Princess Pavlos. Prince William's own godfather is the former King Constantine II of Greece, Prince Konstantine's grandfather.

19) Owned a black Labrador named Widgeon.

20)  He met his future wife, Catherine Middleton, while they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

21) On June 23rd, 2005, William graduated from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland with a 2:1 Master of Arts in Geography.

22) He has a rose named after him - Royal William

23) He is left-handed

24) He entered Royal Sandhurst Military Academy in 2006 as an officer cadet. He was commissioned as an army officer in December 2006 and joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) as a Second Lieutenant in January 2006.

25) On 11th April 2008, Prince William received his RAF wings from his father The Prince of Wales, becoming the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot.

26) As a child William was given a specially modified, electrically powered, bright red Jaguar XJS Cabriolet miniature sports car. A gift from the manufacturers.

27) He was appointed a Royal Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter on April 23rd, 2008. He is the 1000th knight in the register. 

28) He is a keen sportsman and has participated in many sporting activities: swimming, water polo, skiing,  rugby, polo, football, basketball, cross country running and clay pigeon shooting.

29) On the day of his wedding, April 29, 2011, the Queen granted William the titles Duke of Cambridge, The Earl of Strathearn and The Baron of Carrickfergus.

30) On 29th May 2012, The Duke of Cambridge was conferred to the Order of the Thistle in the year of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

© Marilyn Braun 2012

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.