The physical resemblance to Diana is the most striking thing about the
six-foot-plus William ; the golden hair, the shy downcast smile. In
looks, he's much more a Spencer than a Windsor, but those close to him detect
an intriguing mixture of both when it comes to character.
At sixteen, William is much more assured and self-confident than his father at
the same age ; and both Charles and Diana have to share the credit for
this. Charles was at one with Diana in that, at all costs, neither of their sons
must have inflicted on them the horrors of their father's misery at
Gordonstoun.
Those friendless years of bullying on the shores of the Moray Firth have
scarred Charles for life, so when Diana insisted on having more of a say in the
boys' education than was expected ; even of a modern Royal wife
; she was pushing at an open door.
Already reading at five, William was led by the hand by Diana to the pre-prep
Wetherby school near to his home in Kensington Palace and three years later
on to boarding school at Ludgrove in Berkshire. It was at these schools that
William ; no doubt with the help of a big chunk of his mother's genes
; experienced the rough and tumble of early school days, made friends,
played football, and learned to muck in with the other kids.
So by the time he was ready to move on to Eton ; and, again, there was
no argument from Charles about a decision driven by Diana drawing on the
experiences of her father and brother there and the fact that it was so close to
London ; he was fully prepared to get in the swing of things. "The
result is that despite the tragedy of losing his beloved mother, William has
reached his sixteenth birthday far more rounded and assured than the mess his
father was at the same age", a friend of the family has confided. "There's also
a touch of steel about William that Charles has never had ; perhaps it's a
spin-off from the Spencer wilfulness."
Eton may be a minor revolution for Royal educational habits, but it is still a
million miles from being anything like your local comprehensive. Diana,
however, already had slotted her oldest son into her vision of Royal duty years
before Eton; she took the nine year-old boy to meet her friend and Aids
victim Adrian Ward-Jackson.
A Royal source maintains "Diana was determined that, as far as was possible
for a future King, her son would see something of the real world over which
he would reign some day other than through the plate-glass window of a Royal
limousine."
Again, like his mother, William has come to detest the flash-and-click world
that will be part of the rest of his life. But he's also developed her knack of
exuding charm and charisma when the cameras do start popping. His recent
trip to Canada for a skiing holiday with his father was the perfect example of
what might be called his Royal "professionalism".
Surrounded by screaming teenagers, there's no doubt this was the sudden
emergence of the next Royal superstar ; but that charismatic presence
­ the downcast eyes and shy smile inherited from his mother ;
shines out from every photograph. And there's always that Windsor reserve in
the background, something her critics claim his mother never managed. But in
answer to questions tabled to mark the sixteenth birthday, William stressed that
he hates the idea of being something of a "pin-up".
Many tend to forget that the Royal Family stretches out beyond William's
parent and grandparents. There's cousins, uncles and aunts too, and among his
own generation, William is closest to Princess Anne's children, Peter and Zara
Phillips.
Peter Phillips, some four years older and already a very promising rugby
player, has become something of a hero for William. "The Prince is a fair
sportsman himself ," one senior figure points out. "Like his mother, he is a
very good swimmer and is now representing Eton. But he is rather in awe of
what Peter has achieved so far in his chosen sport, rugby ­ and possibly
envious because his cousin can get on with becoming a top class player which
is something he can't even think of.
"It was Peter's sister Zara who encouraged him in the weeks after Diana's
funeral," the same friend said. "'Come on, cheer up!'" she urged him,
chucking him under the chin." Zara joined William and his father on a skiing
holiday in Switzerland earlier this year
Neither of Princess Anne's children are in awe of their formidable mother; not
that Prince Charles demands as a right the awe and respect he was required to
show William's grandfather, Prince Philip. In his own way, Charles has
earned the love and respect of his sons; he gave William his own "space" in
York House and ­ as we saw on the Canadian trip ­ is immensely
proud of his son's popularity with the people, and shows it, too. A big change
from the often surly acceptance that his late wife and not him was the star the
crowds had come to see.
The Queen herself has undertaken to teach William the rules of the Royal game
and he enjoys tea with grandmother at Windsor Castle, with dashes of learning
about the duties and responsibilities of the role that one day will be his.
He then goes back to Eton ; where he's sailed through his GCSEs en
route to Cambridge University ; his swimming, as well as having a go
at rowing, cricket and football. We're still waiting for progress reports on the
two year-old who was photographed kicking a ball about the gardens of
Kensington Palace!
Even at sixteen, William has become what many see as the last, best hope for
the House of Windsor. If that's the case, then his father must be even more
proud of him, especially after the trauma of the last few years. But, then, his
mother never had any doubts that her oldest son was the "right stuff".
Victoria Austin ,Royalty Magazine
Indeed, with the one-year anniversary of Diana's Aug. 31 death approaching, William's grief is
giving way to good times. An excellent student, he ended his spring exams at tony Eton on June 11
-- after clocking the school's best times since 1987 in the 50- and 100-meter junior freestyle
swims. (The initials W.O.W. on his track suit stand for William of Wales.) On July 5, he and Harry
will likely schmooze with the Spice Girls and All Saints (his current fave band) at Charles's annual
Prince's Trust concert in London. And William will spend most of the summer happily holed up at
Balmoral, the Queen's Scottish estate. As avid a country sportsman as his father, he'll be "shooting
anything that moves, fishing in the icy river Dee, having what passes for a picnic with footmen
serving him," says Hoey. "Nothing changes up there."
Not so William himself. As his sorrow eases, the young prince is learning to forge a relationship
with the press he so abhors. The week before his birthday, in a gesture widely seen as a reward to
the British media for showing restraint in pursuit of details about his personal life, he agreed to
answer written questions posed to him by the British Press Association's Peter Archer. His
responses were hardly soul-baring, but there were revelations. He shares the royals' love of
horses. He likes computer games, fast food, techno music and "modern" clothes that he buys
himself. (He feels comfortable even in the very unmodern swallowtail coat, starched collar and
striped trousers that are the uniform at Eton, which he also professes to like.) He loves to read,
particularly action-adventure fiction and nonfiction; he also likes action movies. And he confessed
that he'd love to go on an African safari, as his dad and brother got to do last year on their trip to
South Africa. He even admitted to a couple of dislikes: the glare of the public spotlight and the
adulation of teenage girls.
"He comes across quite sympathetically, as thoughtful and sensitive with an artistic flair," says
Archer, who was allowed to peruse palace archives for personal nuggets as well. (When he was
hit in the head by a golf club at age 7, Archer discovered, Wills, as he was then known, was very
brave and didn't cry.)
At Highgrove, Charles's country home, William reportedly occupies a honey-colored suite
overlooking lush gardens; he has chosen family photos and a poster of his current object of
affection, Christie Brinkley, to adorn the walls. ("The days of Cindy Crawford and Pamela
Anderson have gone," says Archer.) At school he excels at English, enjoys silverworking ("He's
very clever with his hands," says Richard Kay, a former Diana confidant) and cuts a dashing figure
on the soccer fields, the tennis courts and -- of course -- in the pool. He also loves water polo,
rugby and team clay-pigeon shooting. "He has had many experiences the average lad would
recognize," says Archer.
Still, let's face it -- the fact that he's 6'1", has his mom's sapphire eyes and is constantly trailed by
bodyguards sets him apart from the average kid. "William's shoes are always so shiny, his trousers
well-pressed," marvels an Eton bookshop owner. "He looks different from the others."
That, of course, is old news to the world's teenage girls, who long ago placed the reluctant
charmer right up there with Leonardo DiCaprio. ("It's something about his eyes that just makes me
weird," explains Diana Araujo, 13, of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., founder of one of the 22-odd Web
pages in the prince's honor.) In Vancouver with Charles and Harry in March, William was
besieged by frenzied girls proposing marriage. "He has replaced his mother as the royal star," says
royals author Judy Wade -- and he's not sure he likes it. "William has a hard time with public
exposure, let alone being a teenagers' pinup," says Archer.
So, apparently, do his schoolmates. At Eton, where William occupies an ordinary single room at
Manor House, an ivy-covered residence housing 50 students, he takes ribbing for his teen-dream
status (the 100 Valentine's Day cards he reportedly received this year didn't help). "They
wolf-whistle at him, which he loathes," says Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine.
Yet he has a tight set of friends, and even the merest of acquaintances wouldn't dream of "talking
about him [to outsiders], not even to their parents," says one Eton dad. Thus, while it seems likely
Diana's boy didn't reach sweet 16 without having been kissed -- royal watchers say he has dated
at least two girls -- the heart-pounding details won't be forthcoming. (And sorry, commoners: The
lucky two were "upper class, very much so," says Richard Kay.)
The privacy William enjoys at Eton, in fact, has been an incalculable source of solace during the
past 10 months -- undoubtedly the most difficult of his life. "The press is just never around
anymore," says a local. Also at Eton is Dr. Andrew Gailey, 42, the kindly housemaster who
helped him through his parents' divorce and who continues to offer a compassionate ear. And if
Gailey can't help, William knows that former Prime Minister John Major, his legal guardian, is just
a phone call away. "It's a good idea to have someone to sound off to sometimes," says a source --
especially since psychotherapy, Diana's favorite healing aid, isn't a Palace tradition. "Professional
help?" splutters one insider. "Good gracious, no!"
Instead, primary credit for the prince's seeming equanimity these days goes to his family. He and
Harry -- who, despite past academic difficulties, passed Eton's entrance exam and will join his
brother there next fall -- "see each other often," says Majesty's Seward. "They get along well."
Charles, beyond bringing the boys' beloved former companion Tiggy Legge-Bourke, 33, back into
the fold, is more openly affectionate, and his schedule now incorporates trips with his sons. (On
June 26, Charles and Harry were scheduled to take in a World Cup match in Paris.) Cousin Peter
Phillips, 20, Princess Anne's son and a university student, serves as a sporty, down-to-earth role
model, while Peter's bubbly sister Zara, 17, "loves to tease William and make him blush, which he
does easily," says Hoey. "She has a wonderful ability to deflate egos." Even dour Prince Philip --
known for his failings as a father to Charles -- has risen to the occasion. He takes William on
duck-shooting expeditions, where they discuss "family matters, as well as the future," Kay
reported in the Daily Mail.
One notable absence in William's life, however, is the Spencer clan. Despite Earl Spencer's elegiac
promise to look after his sister's boys, Diana's family has had minimal influence -- though perhaps
not by choice. Soon after Diana's death, William and Harry turned down Lady Sarah
McCorquodale's offer to spend two weeks this summer with her family in Cornwall, and lately
there have been press reports that when Sarah and her sister Lady Jane Fellowes, 41, phone the
princes, their calls are returned by Legge-Bourke. As for the earl, 34, he continues to reside
primarily in Cape Town, so "the geography keeps them apart," says Seward.
Still, Charles and the boys may see their uncle when they make their first visit to Diana's burial site
at Althorp this week, before the museum there opens on July 1. (They sent flowers to her grave on
Mother's Day.) But the two families will remember Diana separately on the anniversary of her
death: the Spencers at Althorp, the Windsors at Balmoral with Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife
Cherie. Says a friend of Diana's: "William lives in his father's world now."
So much so that royal watchers believe William and Harry may finally meet, for the first time, the
love of their father's life, Camilla Parker Bowles. "It's got to happen sooner or later, and Charles's
50th birthday in November would be the obvious opportunity," says Archer. Judging from
William's reaction to the idea when Charles broached it earlier this year, the meeting might actually
go well. "He said, `Whatever makes you happy, Papa,'" Richard Kay reported in the Daily Mail.
In the meantime, William will follow a familiar routine. In September he will return to Eton to study
geography, biology and art history. ("He could prove to be the most intellectual royal this century,"
says Archer.) For vacations and the occasional weekend, he will repair to Highgrove or to St.
James's Palace, where his suite is furnished with reminders of Diana: the carpet, TV and kilim wall
hanging -- one of her last gifts to him -- are all from her Kensington Palace apartment. (He and
Harry were allowed to select any of their mother's personal belongings; William especially
treasures her Cartier "Tank" watch.)
But William's cocooned life can't last forever. The British press, predicts royals expert James
Whitaker, will stop respecting his privacy "the day he appears with a gorgeous blonde on his arm."
The media have already reported that a group of upper-class British women known as the
Marden's Club ("They decide which [girls] are suitable for the scions of aristocracy," explains
Hoey) is on the lookout for a girl-who-could-be-queen. And the Palace recently harrumphed over
a romance-related press transgression: When the Mail on Sunday reported that any girl William
likes is vetted and then invited to tea, officials complained to the Press Complaints Commission
that the piece was "grossly intrusive" and inaccurate.
In time, duty too will call. After Eton, William will likely attend Cambridge University, as his father
did, and then perhaps go on to postgrad studies before joining the military. Says Seward: "He
doesn't like the idea of being pushed into anything. I know Diana was quite keen on him going to
Harvard, like a lot of European princes do." (In his answers to the Press Association, he said he
has not decided where he wants to study next.) William is also being schooled in the ways of a
future monarch. He regularly visits his grandmother at Windsor Castle, across the Thames from
Eton. And she has come to see him at school (one visit was in February to watch him in a school
production of Shakespeare's The Tempest). "The Queen is determined there will be no mistakes
with his upbringing or career development," says Hoey. "He's the hope for the future."
Diana, of course, dreamed of nothing less for her son. "She always used to say she wanted
William to be happy, and it's quite clear she wanted him to be king," says Archer. It's a tall order,
one that the prince she married has yet to pull off. But one that the prince she gave birth to just
might.
-- KIM HUBBARD -- NINA BIDDLE and SIMON PERRY in London and J. JENNINGS
MOSS in New York City, People Weekly
There were tears, bouquets and posters proclaiming their devotion. In scenes more reminiscent of
a film star or pop group's arrival than a royal visit, Prince William and Prince Harry continued to
draw a delirious response from young Canadian fans.
While Prince Charles praised Canadians for their efforts fighting racism and preserving Western
Canada's beautiful coastline, the attention was really all on his two sons.
Before leaving Vancouver for a four-day skiing holiday, Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, 13,
smiled bashfully for hundreds of adoring young girls who behaved as if Leonardo DiCaprio had
just flown in.
Shannon Raimondo, 14, was close to tears because she had not managed to get close enough to
William to deliver a bouquet and teddy bear when the Princes arrived at the Pacific Space Centre.
"I love him so much," she said. "He's royalty. He's so hot. Look at him! I've got posters all over
my bedroom, but he's so much cuter in the flesh."
Caroline Carter, 14, skipped school to participate in what Canadians are already referring to as
"Prince mania". She even planned to follow the royal trio to Whistler, the famous ski resort located
north of Vancouver.
Harry smiled and reached out to the crowds that greeted, them shaking hands and accepting
bunches of roses.
William looked rather more uncomfortable on the first stop of a one-day tour around Vancouver,
constantly feeling his collar, but by the third stop he had relaxed a bit and seemed to be coming to
terms with his status as teen idol. The Princes then joined their father on an additional engagement
at a Vancouver high school where an estimated 10,000 girls greeted the royal party.
After completing their official duties yesterday afternoon, the trio took off in helicopters for
Whistler, with Charles and William travelling separately for security reasons.
All three left with a gift that is in hot demand in Vancouver at the moment; red and white Team
Canada Olympic jackets and hats. The crowd cheered as the boys shed their sober blazers to try
on their sporting gear.
St James's Palace has emphasized that Charles' main purpose in making the weeklong trip is to
enjoy a spring holiday with his sons and show them a part of the world he loves.
The son of Di and Charles has well and truly arrived in the land of hearthrob. British teenyboppers
are going wild over 13 year old Wills who is beginning to get pop star treatment a la David
Cassidy. The cool teen, who's been known to already enjoy late nights, could end up giving his
mum competition for space on the front page of newspapers and magazines.
The press, knowing a good, longlasting meal ticket when they see it are beginning to stir up Wills
Mania Top-selling mag Smash Hits is giving away 250,000 "I Love Willy" stickers to its readers.
Another, Live and Kicking, is listing "10 reasons why Prince Wills is cool."" Smash Hits editor
Kate Thornton said, "Normally we wouldn't cover the Royal Family but our 13- and 14-year-old
readers see him as classic boyfriend material."
"He's good-looking and bright and he's their age. He goes to parties and is a bit of a rebel," she
told The Sunday Express.
So get ready dude- Groupies, undies in the mail and even more paparazzi in the bushes are coming
your way!
Meet Prince Charming...
PRINCE WILLIAM is in danger of being promoted as the latest national heart-throb. Readers of
teenage magazines have voted him a "fanciable male" and now a female fan - no doubt the first of
many - has presented him with a bunch of pink carnations. Although cameramen are reasonably
restrained about photographing him walking to and from his division rooms at Eton, the Prince is
slowly becoming better known to us. At 14, he already encapsulates many qualities, not least hope
for the future of the monarchy. He is very much the son of both his parents, exemplifying the more
attractive qualities of both. He is good-looking, has a kind face and his slight shyness - and
propensity to blush - is appealing. Like his father, he enjoys the outdoor life of Balmoral and has
been taught the traditional ways of aristocratic country life. But despite the domestic problems he
has had to face at an all-too-sensitive age, he has not inherited his father's tortured brow.
Reports that he has no intention of succeeding the Prince of Wales are exaggerated, but there are
certainly moments when Prince William bemoans his lot - particularly when he is being stalked by
the paparazzi. It would be surprising if he did not. His father has made him clearly aware of what
the future holds in store for him, and ensured he has no grandiose illusions about his role. At the
age of 21, Prince Charles told Jack de Manio: "I think it's something that dawns on you with the
most ghastly, inexorable sense. I didn't wake up in my pram one day and say: yippee!" Prince
William is likely to have much the same feelings, though he is less troubled by anxieties and
self-doubt.
The gradual disintegration of his parents' marriage may have resulted in terrible tensions at home,
but the divorce has eased matters. Far from being cruelly tugged in opposite directions, Prince
William now benefits from experiencing two different kinds of lifestyle.
At Kensington Palace, Diana, Princess of Wales dispenses with much of the protocol and
formality that is inevitable when he is staying with his father at Balmoral, for example, where he is
piped into dinner and surrounded by staff and extended family. It is to his credit that he appears to
enjoy the hamburger joints and amusement parks as much as he has taken to stag-hunting and
pheasant shoots.
At Eton, Prince William has blossomed under a regime that encourages the development of the
individual; he has his own room, works at a self-imposed pace and has already acquired a
valuable network of friends. Prince Charles, on the other hand, languished at Gordonstoun, with its
regime of dormitories, cold showers and naked lightbulbs, and failed to make many lasting
friendships there.
But the father had one advantage over the son; in Prince Charles's teens, the yellow press did not
follow his love life as assiduously as it would now. A liaison with Lucia Santa Cruz, the glamorous
daughter of the then Chilean ambassador, was discreetly encouraged by The Master of Trinity and
kept away from prying eyes. Prince William will not be so lucky. His first girlfriend will be offered
vast sums to talk, friends will be bribed, and long lenses and the cutting edge of new technology
will do the rest.
The £2.40 bunch of flowers he was given by 15-year-old Alex Miller this week is just the start of
what may prove to be a difficult trial. For as Prince William continues to stir teenage yearnings, his
image will inevitably be manipulated into that of the traditional, romantic Prince Charming.
And no one can live up to that. Prince William will find himself cast as a hero one moment, and a
rogue the next. No doubt, his parents have already warned him about that; there could, After all,
be few better placed to advise the young Prince about the bumpy ride ahead.
Almost two months into his studies at Eton, Prince William, 13, has been promoted from junior
royal to teen heartthrob. At the Oct. 23 La Fiesta Ball--a $35-a-ticket bash for 1,000
private-school students at London's Hammersmith Palais dance hall--he was besieged by
blue-blooded Lolitas eager to kiss and tell. Arriving at 9:40 p.m. with two chums and a pair of
bodyguards, William bounced on an inflatable castle, threw himself into the crowd sliding through
the soapy foam covering the dance floor and queued up for bottled water. Taking a break with
schoolmates, the shy prince was approached by a succession of miniskirted admirers."I think he
was shocked when they asked, `Would you like to snog [make out] with me?' " one reveler told
the Daily Mail. The offers, it seems, were politely declined.
Still, Wills may have to bear the slings and arrows of hunkdom, since the same week also saw his
debut as a pinup in the teen mag Smash Hits. In a shot taken on the Queen Mum's Aug. 4
birthday, the Waleses' heir apparent peers out from beneath his bangs with the coy glance that is
his mother's trademark. "Prince William might not be a pop star," says the magazine's features
editor Leesa Daniels, "but he is probably the most famous teenager in the world."
Indeed: Wills's Palais outing hit the papers within 24 hours, and Buck House protested an
overheated account in the down-market Sun, which cheekily invited any lass who "snatched a
smacker" to ring its hot line. After being cautioned by the Palace that the invitation flouted an
August Press Complaints Commission warning against intruding on the prince's privacy, the Sun
agreed not to quote any tattletales.
In Manhattan last week for the annual gala benefiting the Princess Grace Foundation, Monaco's
Prince Rainier made a lasting impression when he whacked a wisecracking actor. The Oct. 29
benefit was held at Pomp, Duck and Circumstance, an interactive circus-dinner-theater hybrid
featuring food fights and heckling by actors working as waiters. The crowd also included Prince
Albert and Princess Caroline, Texas socialite Lynn Wyatt and Cary Grant's widow, Barbara Grant
Cohen. But it was Rainier, 72, who stole the show. Tim Ward, playing an abrasive reporter,
ribbed the princes "from Morocco" and recommended that the balding Albert, 37, join the Hair
Club for Men. Rainier, Ward says, then "beckoned me over and slapped me on the head. It gave
me a little sting, and I thought I had gone too far."
According to director Simone Martel, "You could hear a pin drop" when Ward jokingly raised his
hand to return the cuff. Fortunately, she says, Ward "went back to his table to frolic with the
others. He realized in the middle of it that there's definitely a line you don't cross."
Though the Palace in Monaco declines to comment, a member of the royal party who was at one
of the Grimaldis' tables says, "Prince Ranier felt that [Ward] was insulting Monaco. He illustrated
his displeasure by delivering a burlesque swat." Still, he adds, "the prince was not angry. This was
simply a humorous warning. [He] was very pleased with the gala, and the episode was
immediately forgotten."
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By Patrick Sawer
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