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    William: HRH Prince William of Wales
    William: HRH Prince William of Wales
    William: HRH Prince William of Wales
    Ebook219 pages2 hours

    William: HRH Prince William of Wales

    By Tim Graham and Peter Archer

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    As the boy prince turns into the man who would be king, interest in Prince William is at an unprecedented height in 2003, the year of his twenty-first birthday. Seen as the vital link between the traditions of the Royal Family and the more populist, modern approach of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, William has become an icon and pin-up as well as the future of the monarchy.

    This pictorial celebration features hundreds of photographs of William at work and at play by Tim Graham, the foremost photographer in this field. These beautiful photographs are accompanied by a unique insight into William's life by Peter Archer, the only journalist to interview the prince and be accredited to Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace.

    Elegant and revealing, William is not just a landmark in royal publishing but a beautiful celebration of this special year in the prince's life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtria Books
    Release dateJun 15, 2010
    ISBN9781451605693
    William: HRH Prince William of Wales
    Author

    Tim Graham

    Tim Graham is Executive Editor of NewsBusters and is the Media Research Center’s Director of Media Analysis. HGraham is a regular talk-radio and television spokesman for the MRC and has made television appearances on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, and other publications.

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      Book preview

      William - Tim Graham

      WILLIAM

      HRH Prince William of Wales

      Tim Graham and Peter Archer

      ATRIA BOOKS

      1230 Avenue of the Americas

      New York, NY 10020

      www.SimonandSchuster.com

      Copyright © 2003 by Tim Graham and Peter Archer

      All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

      For information address Atria Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

      ISBN: 0-7434-8230-1

      eISBN: 978-1-451-60569-3

      First Atria Books trade paperback edition June 2003

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      ATRIA BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

      Manufactured in Great Britain

      For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-5798-or [email protected]

      INTRODUCTION

      BORN TO BE KING

      BILLY THE KID

      LESSONS TO BE LEARNT

      HOME AND AWAY

      YOUNG ETONIAN—TEENAGER

      ROYAL SOAP

      GAP YEAR

      JUST WILLIAM

      GIRLS AND THE PIN-UP PRINCE

      FUTURE KING

      CAPTIONS

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      He has inherited his mother’s good looks and his father’s intellect. Rich, handsome and charming, he is arguably the most eligible bachelor in the world. He is a pin-up and a role model. He is a dutiful son and grandson, a loving brother and friend. He is his mother’s enduring legacy and his father’s pride and joy.

      Prince William is a dashing young man destined to be king. Second in line to the throne of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, he is the monarchy’s future and its great hope.

      The most popular member of the Royal Family, William has charisma and a flirtatious wit. His youth, athletic physique and engaging smile make girls swoon. But he is also respected for his strength of character and the way he conducted himself in adversity after his mother’s early and cruel death.

      Young and old cannot resist his style and impeccable manners. Firm of handshake and quick to chat, he can put people at ease, combining the right measure of curiosity, humour and compassion.

      In many ways, William breaks the mould. He is a modern prince in touch with his contemporaries in a fast-changing world. To the credit of his mother and father, he has been brought up in the real world. Of course, he was born into immense wealth and privilege. He has had the best that money can buy. But his humility is intact. Due largely to the efforts of Diana, Princess of Wales, he was shown how the less fortunate, the homeless and the sick, live and suffer. Diana was determined that, if she were to be the People’s Princess, her son and heir would be the People’s Prince. She showed William how to have fun too and what it was like to live a ‘normal’ life. With younger brother Prince Harry, they dressed in jeans and baseball caps, went to the cinema or an amusement park and ate fast food.

      The Prince of Wales has taught his son the importance of heritage and tradition. William was born to be king. He has inherited his father’s destiny. He may have been frightened by the high expectation and weight of duty on his young shoulders, but the gentle encouragement and coaching of his father have stood him in good stead. The ways of the Windsors were not always to the liking of Diana but, no matter how much he resembles the Princess, William is also his father’s son.

      Charles’s strong sense of social justice and the help he gives to the needy, particularly disadvantaged youngsters through his widely acclaimed Prince’s Trust charity, have helped fashion the way William sees the world. His father’s devotion to duty, as heir to the throne, has also set William an example to follow. In public, Charles may not be a ‘touchy-feely’ parent, as Diana was, but in private he is always loving, caring and affectionate. A grateful William returns the love shown to him by his father and he admires his achievements.

      Just as William follows in his mother’s wake as a champion swimmer, he emulates his father’s sporting prowess on the polo field. Despite Diana’s dislike of such things, William hunts and shoots in the way of royalty and country folk. He shares Charles’s love of the countryside and his interest in promoting a sustainable environment.

      As William turns twenty-one, on 21 June 2003, he presents himself as a truly remarkable young man who has experienced different ways of life and travelled much of the world. Well-educated at Eton and now at St Andrews University in Scotland, he is already an accomplished individual, living up to his early promise.

      It would appear that William has turned out exceptionally well despite a childhood scarred by his parents’ highly publicised marriage breakdown and bitter divorce. Who could possibly imagine the utter devastation he felt, at the tender age of fifteen, when his mother was fatally injured in a Paris car crash? Only time will tell if William survived these harrowing experiences without serious and lasting emotional harm. If he is unscathed by his troubled upbringing, it is surely a testament to the love his parents poured on him, despite their harmful quarrelling.

      Young people in Britain are growing up in a baffling, complex and rapidly changing world, where divorce rates are increasing and traditional institutions are breaking down. William’s story represents the strains of modern life and it is perhaps because of this that young people identify closely with him. Pollsters report that youngsters consider William to be the Royal to modernise the monarchy as a new-style head of state in tune with the twenty-first century. Even if the monarchy were abolished, William would still be one of the favourites to become president of the new republic of Great Britain.

      Many youngsters want William to usurp his father and be king instead of him. But that could never be, nor is it something William would want. Modest and unassuming, when others in his position could show unbearable arrogance, he is supportive of his father and his number-one fan.

      An indication of William’s popularity is that his mere presence in Scotland, where he is now an undergraduate, is said by some political commentators to have put back any serious threat of republicanism by at least fifty years. This is much to live up to for a young man but, even if it is true, William is clearly a future leader who will have to face a growing questioning of traditional institutions, including the monarchy.

      Such immense pressures are at odds with William’s honest desire to be simply an ordinary young man. At present, the tall, blond, blue-eyed student prince is struggling against intense media interest to preserve a private life of his own. He asks to be called William—not Your Royal Highness, Sir or even Prince William. He wants to be accepted for what he is and not who he is. He is willing to be just one of the crowd and a team player. But he shows promise as a leader and a mediator. For whatever reasons, he is seeking the approval of his peers. William wants to be liked—and is adored.

      Wearing the student uniform of jeans and trainers, his hair carefully tousled, William has assumed the identity of an undergraduate in Scotland’s oldest seat of learning, St Andrews. Sharing a comfortable flat with a friend from Eton and an attractive brunette, not to mention his police bodyguard, William is enjoying a degree more independence than his days at boarding school allowed him. Geared up with a car and a mountain bike, William intends to enjoy his student years and to have fun in the university town with a reputation for partying. But he knows the eyes of the world are on him and that if—or when—he slips up, his mistakes will be magnified, such is the nature of the public scrutiny he attracts. His story is a compelling tale of our times.

      1

      BORN TO BE KING

      William’s story begins before he was born. It was a beginning that, told through the world’s media, had all

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