26 August 2015 - PRINCE WILLIAM

PRINCE WILLIAM

G'day folks,

Welcome to one of the more popular members of the royal family. Prince William is the eldest son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Wales, and is next in line for the British throne after his father.

Synopsis

Prince William is the eldest son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Wales and is the next in line to the British throne after his father. He was strongly affected by his parents' divorce in 1996 and his mother's tragic death in 1997 and expressed discomfort at the growing attention he received as he reached adulthood. William served in the Royal Air Force and supports numerous charities. On April 29, 2011, he made international headlines when he married his college sweetheart, Kate Middleton, at Westminster Abbey. The couple's son Prince George, third in line to the throne, was born on July 22, 2013. Their second child, a daughter, was born on May 2, 2015.

Early Life

Prince William was born Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor on June 21, 1982, in London, England, the eldest son of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Charles, Prince of Wales. His official title is "His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales."

 William attended Mrs. Mynor's Nursery school in West London (1985-87), Wetherby School in Kensington, London (1987-90), and Ludgrove School in Wokingham (1990-95). In 1995, at the urging of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William (nicknamed "Wills") entered Eton College, one of England's most prestigious secondary schools. A serious student with excellent grades, he also excelled in sports at Eton, particularly swimming. With his father and brother, he enjoys outdoor sports including riding, skiing, shooting and fishing.

As he is directly in line to the British throne after his father, Charles, he spends a good deal of time at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who is very concerned with his upbringing and career development.

Affected by both his parents' divorce in 1996 and his mother's tragic death in 1997, the tall and handsome young William publicly stated his dislike for the press, and expressed discomfort with the growing attention he received from love-struck adolescent girls. William gives the impression of being a well-mannered, responsible and mature young man who shows a strong sense of duty and loyalty to the royal family, fully aware of the role he is to play in the future as the King of England.

 Military Service and Philanthropy

 

Upon his graduation from Eton, William took a break from his studies to visit South America and Africa. He then attended Scotland's St Andrew's University, where he received a degree in geography in 2005. Following in the footsteps of his younger brother, Prince Harry, William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a military cadet and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry in December 2006. In 2008, he was appointed to be a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. He is now training to be a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.

Along with his military career, William supports numerous charities, including serving as patron to Centrepoint, an organization for homeless youth, and the Tusk Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of African wildlife. In 2007, William and his brother Harry hosted a special concert to celebrate their late mother and raise funds for charities that Princess Diana supported during her life as well as charities supported by the princes.

 Kate Middleton

 

As the future king of England, William's personal life has been the subject of much media attention. He had been romantically linked to Kate Middleton; the couple met while attending St. Andrew's University. Rumors of a possible engagement swirled around the pair for months, but to the surprise of royal watchers, the couple announced that they were splitting up in April 2007. However, in the time since that announcement, Middleton had attended several public and official events, as well as traveled on vacation with Prince William. Speculation about a wedding engagement between Prince William and Kate Middleton continued to swell.

On November 16, 2010, it was announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton were engaged. Prince William had popped the question in October during a holiday in Kenya, using his mother's engagement ring. It was also stated that the couple would live in North Wales, where Prince William is stationed with the Royal Air Force. Middleton is not of royal or aristocratic lineage, which is a break from longtime royal tradition.

 With his marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, the Queen officially conferred her grandson with the title William, Duke of Cambridge, as well as the additional titles Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Royal Pregnancy

On December 3, 2012, after almost a year of baby rumors and much speculation, St. James Palace officially announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton were pregnant with their first child.

Prince William's child with Middleton will be the Queen's third great-grandchild and will be the third in line, next to Prince Charles and Prince William, to become heir to the throne. 

"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," the official statement confirmed the pregnancy. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

 In September 2014, the couple announced that Kate Middleton was pregnant with their second child.

Royal Births

Anticipating the arrival of Middleton and Prince William's first born, international media outlets camped out in front of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington at the beginning of July 2013. St. Mary's was the same hospital where Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William and later Prince Harry.

On July 22, 2013, the palace announced Middleton had given birth to a baby boy, weighing in at 8 pounds and 6 ounces, at 4:24 p.m. local time. Two days later, the baby's name was revealed: George Alexander Louis, who will be known as "His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge."

Nearly two months after his son's birth, Prince William announced that he would be leaving the military. He has decided to focus on his royal responsibilities and his charity work. According to BBC News, Prince William will devote much of his energy to wildlife conservation. He explained that "The threats to our natural heritage are extensive, but I believe that this collaboration of the best minds in conservation will provide the impetus for a renewed commitment and action to protect endangered species and habitats for future generations."

While still maintaining his royal duties, Prince William announced in 2014 that he would be taking a position as a pilot for Bond Air Services, an air ambulance company. He started training for the position in 2015. With this new role, Prince William is believed to be the first British royal heir to work in the private sector. His salary will be donated to charity. 

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their second child on May 2, 2015. The Duchess gave birth to a daughter, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces, at 8:34 a.m. local time at St Mary's Hospital. The baby is the Queen's fifth great-grandchild and the fourth in line to the throne after her brother Prince George.   

Clancy's Comment: What a shame that most public figures, especially politicians, are not as genuine and likeable as this young bloke and his brother, Harry. Both of them are charming young men.

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20 July 2015 - KATE MIDDLETON

KATE MIDDLETON

G'day folks,

Time to present some royalty. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Following his father Charles, Prince of Wales, William is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. 

 

Kate Middleton, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, married Prince William in 2011 at Westminster Abbey.

Synopsis

Kate Middleton was born on January 9, 1982, in Reading, England. On April 29, 2011, she married Prince William at Westminster Abbey in London. Shortly before their wedding, Queen Elizabeth conferred Kate with the title of Catherine, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge. After the palace officially announced her pregnancy in December 2012, Middleton gave birth to Prince George, the third in line to the throne, on July 22, 2013, amid an international media frenzy. She gave birth to a daughter, the fourth in line to the throne, on May 2, 2015. 

Early Life

Kate Middleton was born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton on January 9, 1982, in Reading, Berkshire, England, to pilot Michael and flight attendant Carole Middleton. Middleton has a younger sister, Philippa ("Pippa") and a younger brother, James.

Kate came from a decidedly working-class stock of coal miners and builders. Her maternal grandmother, Dorothy Goldsmith, became the first member of the family to attempt to improve the family's social and economic status. Dorothy pushed her children to aim high and, as a result, Kate's mother became an airline hostess—at the time, a considerably glamorous job. It was on this job that Carole met dispatcher Michael Middleton. The couple married soon after.

By the time Kate was born, her mother was already looking for new ways to climb the social ladder. In 1987, Kate's mother founded her own mail-order party goods company, with ambitions of sending her children to private schools. The business was a surprise success, eventually making the Middleton family multi-millionaires.

As a result of this new-found income, Kate and her siblings didn't want for much. Kate attended exclusive boarding schools, including St. Andrew's Prep School, Down House, and Marlborough College. But her time in boarding school did not come without its conflicts. Kate left the exclusive Down House all-girls boarding school at the age of 13, due to bullying and taunts from other students there. And on her first day at co-ed Marlborough, some particularly mean-spirited boys began rating incoming students based on attractiveness and personality. They gave Kate a two out of 10. Despite the initial setbacks, however, Kate did well in her studies, passing 11 GCSEs and three A-level exams.

In 2001, Middleton became a student at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland—the first in her family to attend college. While in her first year at the university, Middleton was placed in the dormitory St. Salvators Hall—the same building as Prince William of Wales. Middleton and Prince William shared several classes in their course schedule as well, and soon became friends. But while they often shared breakfast and walked to classes together, the two were not interested in each other romantically at first. Middleton was dating senior Rupert Finch, and William was busy dealing with the press and struggling with his feelings about his new school.

But in 2002, Middleton appeared in an exclusive fashion-show fundraiser wearing a revealing dress. William was also present at the charity event, and became intrigued and interested in Kate in a new way. He attempted to engage her romantically that evening but, still in a relationship with Finch, Middleton spurned the future king's advances.

 Royal Romance

 

By the end of 2002, Middleton's boyfriend had graduated. The couple soon parted ways over issues of distance. Newly single and entering her junior year, Middleton and several friends were invited to share a flat with Prince William. In 2003, Middleton and the prince fell into a natural romance, and began dating.

At first, Middleton's life didn't change much. The couple kept their relationship a secret for several years, mostly due to the prince's extreme distrust of the press. The couple agreed not to hold hands in public, or be seen sitting together at dinner parties. This seemed to throw off the press for the most part, and by June 2003 Kate had graduated with an honors bachelor's degree in art history, without any real disruptions from the press.

But in 2004, Kate was caught by paparazzi while on a royal family ski trip. Her relationship with William became the subject of intense scrutiny and, by 2005, she was a tabloid favorite. In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail from the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This led to rumors that Middleton was being groomed for a position of royalty.

In 2006, Prince William headed off to a military academy. Middleton lost her security detail, and was faced with tending the paparazzi frenzy, alone. As the girlfriend of the prince, finding a job was also difficult; the position had to be considered respectable by the royal family, while also allowing Middleton the flexibility to take off at a moments' notice to be with the prince. In November 2006, Middleton finally found an acceptable position as an assistant accessories buyer with the British clothing chain Jigsaw in London. It was later reported that she left the company in order to study portrait photography.

In April 2007, Middleton and Prince William publicly split. Allegedly pressured by the royal family to either propose or let Middleton move on with her life, William apparently broke off the couple's five-year relationship over the phone. Media reports said otherwise, however, as Middleton was spotted at several royal events accompanied by the prince only a few months later. Other rumors indicated that the couple were living together. Both parties denied the rumors.

In 2010, it was revealed that Middleton had been working on plans to start a new bakery business with her brother, James, who ran The Cake Kit Company. The business had the goal of encouraging kids to cook and making it easier to bake party cakes.

 Marriage to Prince William

 

On November 16, 2010, Middleton and Prince William announced their engagement. The prince proposed during a vacation to Kenya, and he presented Kate with his mother's engagement ring. The couple then announced plans to live in North Wales, where Prince William is stationed with the Royal Air Force, after their marriage.

On April 29, 2011, the couple married at Westminster Abbey in London. Kate wore a dress designed by Sarah Burton—a fact that remained a closely guarded secret until the big day. Shortly before the wedding, Queen Elizabeth conferred Kate with the title of Catherine, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge Middleton made headlines in September 2012, when photos of her sunbathing topless in southern France were published by a French magazine, Closer. Soon after, the photos were reproduced in publications in Ireland and Italy. As soon as news broke about the photos in Closer, the British royal family became involved in a legal battle to attain the rights to the photos, in hopes of preventing other publications from printing them. According to the Los Angeles Times, the photos weren't picked up by any news organizations in Britain.

Four days after Closer published the photos, on September 18, 2012, the royal family won their copyrights in court: A judge ordered the French magazine to hand over the photos within 24 hours of the court's decision, according to the L.A. Times. Closer could face daily fines of $13,000, as well as fines for any reprints of the photos, if it fails to meet the 24-hour timeline, the Times continued.

Royal Pregnancy

On December 3, 2012, after almost a year of baby rumours and much speculation, St. James Palace officially announced that Kate Middleton was pregnant. On the same day of the announcement, Middleton, with Prince William by her side, was hospitalized at King Edward VII hospital in London with acute morning sickness.

"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," the official statement confirmed the pregnancy. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

In September 2014, it was announced that Kate Middleton was pregnant with the couple's second child. 

Royal Births

  Anticipating the arrival of Middleton and Prince William's first born, international media outlets camped out in front of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington at the beginning of July 2013. St. Mary's was the same hospital where Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William and later Prince Harry.

On July 22, 2013, the palace announced Middleton had given birth to a baby boy, weighing in at 8 pounds and 6 ounces, at 4:24 p.m. local time. Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge is third in line to British throne, following Prince Charles and Prince William.

On May 2, 2015, she gave birth to a daughter, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces, at 8:34 a.m. local time at St Mary's Hospital. The baby is the Queen's fifth great-grandchild and the fourth in line to the throne after her brother Prince George. 

Clancy's comment: Absolutely charming.

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