Prince William Essay, Research Paper

In

this essay, Prince William will be discussed based on information obtained

through research on him and his family including general and personal

information on him, his schooling and the important influences in his life.

Prince William Arthur Phillip Louis Windsor is one of the most known people in

the world ? despite the fact that he is only sixteen. This essay contains

general information on Prince William, personal information, Prince Williams?s

education and his life story ? obtained from various magazine articles

throughout his life. General information will include who Prince William is,

where he was born, different forms of his name, and what other monarchists he is

related to and how he is related to them. For personal information, Prince

William?s physical description, his "likes and dislikes," and his

personality will be discussed. His childhood schools will be mentioned and a

description of Eton College will be included. The public can often obtain as

much information on a famous person’s life as they want and because of this

abundance of information, Prince William’s life will be detailed along with his

influences in his life like Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth,

Prince Henry, and Alexandria "Tiggy" Legge-Bourke.

"History-to-History" will include another member of the royal family

born in 1066 named William I "the Conqueror," who was as famous during

his ruling period as much as Prince William is in the 1990s. This essay will

cover the above topics. Prince William of Whales is second in line of

inheritance to the British throne after Prince Charles of Whales, who is first.

He was born June 21, 1982 at 9:03 p.m. weighing seven pounds, ten ounces at

Saint Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London after his mother endured seventeen

hours of labor. When he was born, his father, Prince Charles said "Nearly

seventeen hours is a long time to wait ? Obviously, I am relieved,

delighted?. I think it is marvelous. It is rather a grown-up thing, I have

found. It is rather a shock." His christening occurred at Buckingham Palace

on August 4, 1982. When Prince William was born, Prince Charles gave a press

conference, as the entire country was excited with the birth of another

potential King. A press member asked, "Does the baby have hair?"

"It’s blonde, sort of fairish," Prince Charles responded. "Have

you picked a name yet?" Smiling, Charles replied, each word measured:

"We have a few names in mind. You will have to ask my wife about that.

There is an argument about it." Someone in the crowd yelled, "Is he

the most beautiful baby in the world?" The Prince grinned, "He’s not

bad." "Is he like his dad?" someone else asked. "No,"

the Prince shot back. "He’s lucky not to be." Then someone shouted,

"Give us another one, Charlie!" implying that the country wanted more

than just one possible King. Prince Charles shook his head then said,

"You’ll have to ask my wife about that?." He let his words drift for

a moment and then shot back: "Bloody hell, give us a chance!"

Currently, Prince William boards at Eton College, a high profile school with

other students that have just as much wealth and social standing as he has. He

can live at Saint James’s Palace at Highgrove, Gloucestershire in Whales or, of

course, he can stay the weekend at Grandmother’s home, Buckingham Palace. Prince

William has an extremely long name ? three different versions. The first and

most used is Prince William Arthur Phillip Louis Windsor. The second, which is

used less, is Prince William Arthur Phillip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor. The

reason for this second version’s extension is that the royal family once signed

a decree stating that after Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother, the royal family

would have the name of Windsor. However, another decree was signed confusing

royal experts, so the name became Mountbatten-Windsor. The Queen has given no

clarification on whether Mountbatten-Windsor or simply Windsor will be used. The

third form, and longest, is a genealogical interpretation which means that he

does not regularly use it, but nonetheless, it is his family’s name: Prince

William Arthur Phillip Louis

Schlesweig-Hostein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. However, his formal

title ? what visitors call him, or what he is to be officially referred to as,

is "His Royal Highness Prince William of Whales. Everyone has nicknames and

so does a Prince: "Wills," "Wombat," "Billy,"

"Billy the Basher," "The Prince of Wails" and "His

Naughtiness" from childhood. More recently, his nicknames have been

"His Royal Sighness" and "His Royal Hotness." Prince William

is related to a line of high profile individuals like the Queen Elizabeth of

England, Prince Charles of Whales, and the late Princess Diana of Whales. In

addition, he has a nanny named "Tiggy" who is not famous but very

prominent in Prince William’s life especially after the death of his mother.

Queen Elizabeth is, of course, the Queen of England and the richest woman in the

world. She is the grandmother of Prince William and sole protector ? in her

own thoughts ? of her grandson. Prince William’s father is Prince Charles of

Whales. Prince William also has personal information obtained from interviews

with the press and written questionnaires from the press. There is an abundance

of facts on the Internet including particular information that should not be

posted anywhere. Prince William is six feet, one inch tall and weighs one

hundred and thirty-two pounds. His hair color is sandy blonde and his eye color

is hazel. Most people think his eyes are blue but because photographs of him are

generally altered to increase sells of magazines, it is not wise to look at

photographs in them. The reason for the altering is to conform to the belief

that most people believe that blonde hair and blue eyes is considered the most

beautiful kind of people. Prince Williams’ favorite color is either dark green

or blue like most other teenagers. Like most Americans also, Prince William

likes fast cars. He has a dog named Widgeon, a five-year-old Labrador, who is

seen on nearly all of Prince William’s hunting trips. He likes pasta,

hamburgers, chocolate, venison, fruit salad and poached eggs from hens on his

father’s estate and when drinking, he prefers Coke or red wine. Prince William’s

hobbies and sports include shooting, which he likes more than anything, skiing,

soccer, hockey, rafting, rowing on the Thames River, and swimming. He also likes

to paint and it is rumored that he is learning the art quite rapidly and

becoming somewhat accomplished. Prince William has two personalities ? one in

public and one in private. When in public, he is jumpy and constantly worried

about the media because he does not like them taking his picture. Although he

presents himself very well in public, he has a hard time facing the cameras

which will inevitably lead to the press getting more dangerous when trying to

get that "perfect picture." Whenever in private, Prince William is

said to be "outgoing and caring" and he enjoys company with his loyal

friends. Of course, none of this information on his private life can be

supported with concrete evidence because there are no pictures or witnesses to

it. As for anyone, education must be very prominent to lead a successful life.

Prince William?s life is currently centered on education because, like any

sixteen-year-old, he must complete school. Prince William, being royalty, has

attended and is currently attending the finest schools in Europe. At the age of

three, or from 1985 through 1987, Prince William went to Mrs. Mynor?s Nursery

school in West London. From 1987 through 1990, he attended Wetherby School in

Kensington, London and from 1990 through 1995, he attended Ludgrove School in

Wokingham. Now, Prince William attends Eton College where, for Americans, is

comparable to a very expensive private school costing anywhere from twenty

thousand dollars to twenty five thousand dollars per term and an additional

three thousand dollars for uniforms. Prince William’s exclusive boarding school

has more than one thousand two hundred students. There are two swimming pools, a

golf course and dozens of soccer, rugby, and cricket fields. Prince William

lives in an ivy-covered dorm called Manor House with forty-nine other people.

When Prince William entered Eton College, he was around thirteen, like many

others who enroll there. These groups of boys are referred to as "The Lower

Boys," and are in the "F" block of the school curriculum. This

first school year of Eton College is roughly equivalent to the junior year of an

American high school. Eventually, the boys move up from the "F" block

to the "E," "D," "C" and finally the "B"

block when, after that, he usually continues his education at a university

although many former Etonians have taken a year off, known as "the gap

year." Students, despite their wealth, power and potential to destroy the

name of Eton College, are kept on a strict schedule. Much like we have class

periods, Eton College divides their school day into different

"schools" and not periods. In the autumn term, the school day starts

at 7:30 a.m. for "First School," and then after their first period,

the students have breakfast at 8:15 a.m. Chapel starts at 9:20 a.m. and at 9:40

a.m., "Second School" starts. At 10:30 a.m., the students have a

fifteen-minute break. After their small break, "Third School" starts

at 10:55 a.m. and "Fourth School" is at 11:55 a.m. At 1:00 p.m., the

students have Dinner, at 3:30 p.m., "Fifth School" begins and then,

4:15 p.m. is reserved for tea. Beginning at 5:00 p.m. is "Sixth

School" and an hour later, at 6:00 p.m., they have a forty-five minute

study period. At 7:45 p.m., the student’s supper is served. Then, 8:00 p.m. the

school is required to have house prayers. At 8:30 p.m., there is another study

period, and finally, the day ends at 10:00 p.m. when all lights are ordered off.

The "Fifth School" and "Sixth School" are on the whole

school days only. In winter, spring and summer, the hours are slightly modified;

for instance, teatime for the summer is at 4:45 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Prince

William’s life is indeed intriguing and his life’s details would be interesting.

Being a Prince, alone makes anyone famous and well known. However, Prince

William is related to the most charitable woman in the world, his mother,

Princess Diana who he loved very much. Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince

Henry, his brother and his "nanny," Alexandria Legge-Bourke are also

great influences in Prince William’s life. As most fathers have the greatest

predominance in a boy’s life, Prince Charles will be discussed first. Prince

William adores his father very much and now that his mother is gone, Prince

William and Prince Charles will grow so much closer. Prince William is said to

be more comfortable with his father than anyone else ? for the reason of

photographers: When Prince William is with he father, he is photographed much

less than when he was with his "mum." Prince William also enjoys being

with his dad at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Prince William is said to keep his

emotions inside like Prince Charles. Prince William is said to get his love for

the outdoors, fishing and fast cars from Prince Charles. Prince William’s father

has been said not to be a worthy parent and not as fun loving as Diana ? but

many times he has proven that wrong. Recently, Prince Charles let Prince William

drive a Land Rover on the Balmoral Estate at an estimated seventy-five miles per

hour. Many claim that Prince Charles has trouble showing his feelings because of

his childhood ? feelings were not allowed to be shown in public and one famous

picture that details this is when Prince Charles was four and after not seeing

his mother for a few months, she stepped off a plane to shake his hand and

straighten his collar. In 1991, Price William was accidentally struck in the

head with a golf club when a fellow schoolmate was swinging it around his head

and Prince William happened to be in the way. Princess Diana got behind the

wheel of her Jaguar and sped thirty-six miles to the hospital and Prince Charles

was driven to the hospital in his Aston Martin. Princess Diana stayed in the

hospital for two days with Prince William and Prince Charles left before the

seventy minute operation to repair Prince William’s "depressed

fracture" to go to an opera concert that had been planned two months

before. Then, Prince Charles came back, visited Prince William for forty-two

minutes and left for another "private engagement." The next day,

headlines were screaming with "WHAT KIND OF A DAD ARE YOU?" type

articles. At Christmas, Princess Diana was alone and heard Prince Henry’s solo

at the school Christmas concert. Over the Easter break, Prince Diana and the

boys were on their own again, except for a brief appearance with Prince Charles

at church. "There’s a certain kind of Englishman who doesn’t take a lot of

interest in his sons until they’re able to kick a rugby ball, or in his case,

swing a polo mallet. The only public sign of affection Charles has shown was

last year when he saw they boys playing a makeshift game of horse-less polo. He

called them over and patted them on the head. Charles does begin to look

increasingly like that rather disappointing, repressed, uptight

Englishman." Dr. Ronald Levant has said that with fathers like Prince

Charles, children often grow up having problems forming intimate relationships

with their wives and children. He also said that the children will repeat what

their father did "whether they like it or not." However Levant adds,

"all kids really need is one adult who’s absolutely nuts about them"

and that, in the person of their doting mother, William and Harry certainly

have. To be fair, most of Prince Charles’s sins are those of omission. Royals

before him have treated their children the exact same way. If that is the case,

Charles and his sons are merely trapped in a pattern that has nothing to do with

the 1990s ideal of fatherhood, but has been part of the royal family fabric for

generations. None the three ? Prince Charles, Prince William, or Prince Henry

? has ever known anything different, or probably ever will. The next most

instrumental person in Prince William’s life, and perhaps the most memorable of

his family, was his mother, Princess Diana of Whales. The person that Prince

William loved, adored, admired and all around cared about the most was his

mother ? Diana, Princess of Whales. When Princess Diana was watching her

marriage fall apart, she said that the only joy she got in life was playing the

baby "Wills." Unlike Prince Charles, Princess Diana’s devotion to her

firstborn is seen on countless occasions. They regularly went on holidays

together without Prince Charles, and much to Prince William’s joy, Princess

Diana always took part in the annual sports events of his school. One night

Diana locked herself in a palace bathroom and cried over her failing marriage.

Prince William shoved tissues under the door for her and a note that read,

"Please don’t cry. I hate to see you sad." At age nine, Prince William

called his mother’s favorite restaurant and made reservations for the two of

them. "Come on, Mummy," he said to Princess Diana. "We’re going

for lunch at your favorite restaurant, and I’ve already booked a table."

This incident highlighted their special relationship. Now that bond has been

further strengthened by the royal couple’s marital rift. Diana was very shy and

hated her picture continuously taken ? Prince William has the same hatred.

They both walk with their heads down near photographers. However, when they did

not mind getting their pictures taken, both had their heads up and were smiling.

Prince William gets his natural admirable looks and sense of style from the most

fashionable woman in the world ? his mother. His mother took time out To Whom

It May Concern: be with Prince William and his younger brother ? Prince

William was even the first royal baby to go on tours with his parents on order

of his mother. Diana usually let most fights with the royal family go instead of

fight them all the way ? but she never quit fighting when it came to her boys.

Diana took Prince William and Prince Harry to homeless shelters and out with her

on travels to people who were less fortunate. Prince William learned to love and

learn what others love through his mother’s teachings and he shared numerous

interests with his mother ? including tennis, famous stars, music and people.

Diana taught Prince William what life was like when one is not a royal ? by

taking him to McDonald’s and to theme parks. As noted in one incident, Prince

Henry and Prince William served beef curry to the needy as they visited a

homeless shelter with their mother. It was said that Princess Diana

"brought her kids back down to earth" after their week-long skiing

trip by showing the two how teenagers struggle on London’s streets. Princess

Diana broke numerous traditions and let the royal family witness what

"different" really was. For instance, Prince William was born with a

British Prime Minister present and Prince Diana was the first mother in the

royal family to give birth to a direct heir to the British throne without myriad

witnesses present. Princess Diana had broken another tradition when she decided

that breast feeding her newborn was the best way. Like all royal children,

Prince William had a nanny, but a tradition had been broken here, too. Princess

Diana insisted on choosing her own nanny, turning down the suggestions of the

Queen. Princess Diana was facing a heartbreaking future, being increasingly cut

off from her sons, when her and Prince Charles were having marital problems.

Buckingham Palace was tightening its grip on Prince William and Prince Henry’s

lives to limit her influence on them. Although Prince Diana shared custody of

the boys in her separation from Prince Charles, they spent less time with her as

they were being groomed to become senior members of the monarchy. As royal

expert Harold Brooks-Baker said, "Prince William has a future as the heir

to the throne and there is very little the Princess of Whales can teach him

about that. Prince Henry will follow the same path. Only their father and his

family can teach them that, and the Princess’s influence will become

marginal." On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was on her way to England to

see her boys in a Mercedes Benz followed by the paparazzi. The driver,

supposedly intoxicated, was driving at a horrendous speed of one hundred and

twenty miles per hour when he lost control of the car and slammed into a support

beam of a bridge. One of the three passengers of the car was pronounced dead at

the scene and only two remained, Princess Diana and her bodyguard. Barely alive,

Princess Diana was rushed to the hospital while the paramedics started an

operation trying to save her life in the ambulance. British Foreign Secretary

Robin Cook awakened Prince Charles shortly after midnight in Scotland, within an

hour of the accident. Prince Charles then awoke the Queen and both went to the

drawing room. When Princess Diana’s condition was described as grave, Prince

Charles decided to awake the children.