HE IS known formally as His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales. But from today he wants to be known as just William.
The eldest son of the Prince of Wales has also made clear that he does not expect anyone to bow or call him “sir” when they meet him tonight at the tenth birthday party of the Press Complaints Commission. The same rule will apply when he joins St Andrews University in October for a four-year history of art course. He will be listed in the register simply as William Wales.
The informal approach, which is in stark contrast to the upbringing of the other royals, was agreed between father and son, who will together attend the PCC reception. Camilla Parker Bowles will also be at the event at the newly restored Somerset House, the first time she has appeared in public with either of the young Princes.
While the Queen’s children were all born with HRH they never formally adopted the title until they came of age but were always addressed as Prince or Princess.
Prince Charles, who was due to become HRH in 1961 when he was 21, was given the title a year earlier, at the same time as his sister, Anne, who is two years his junior.
Buckingham Palace bestowed HRH early on the Princess when she left school at 18 because, unlike her brother, she was not going on to university and was about to begin official engagements.
Prince William has deliberately opted not to follow in the footsteps of his uncles and aunts and, as with his Eton days, will be known only by his Christian name until he has completed his university education at the earliest.
A spokeswoman for St James’s Palace said: “William decided he did not want to adopt the HRH title at 18. He has also asked that people do not call him sir or bow when they meet him.”
The move is part of an effort by Prince William to blend in when he goes to university. He does not want to make a dramatic entrance. When his father arrived in a red Mini at Trinity College, Cambridge, to study archaeology he was greeted by the Master, Lord Butler of Saffron Walden.
Hundreds of excited sightseers swarmed round the car and Lord Butler’s welcoming remarks were drowned by the crowd. College porters had to eject the visitors from the courtyard.
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Row over Briton threatens Prince's Saudi visit(Yahoo: Ananova)
A visit by the Prince of Wales to Saudi Arabia is in question because of a row over the Briton who may be beheaded.
Sandy Mitchell appeared on Saudi television apparently admitting he masterminded a car bombing campaign in which a fellow Briton was killed and another seriously injured.
As diplomats tried to establish the facts behind the confession, which human rights campaigners denounced as a show trial, there was doubt about Charles's semi-private visit later this month.
Charles is due to visit an art exhibition in the kingdom, but it is understood St James's Palace has been waiting for final approval from the Foreign Office.
Today the Foreign Office said the visit was "a matter for the palace".
Mr Mitchell said on Saudi TV he and Canadian William Sampson, 42, an economist with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, were responsible for the blast which killed Christopher Rodway, a 47-year-old engineer from Salisbury who worked at the Military Hospital in Riyadh, on November 17 last year.
Mr Rodway's father, Jerry Rodway, 69, a retired sales representative from Salisbury, said if Mr Mitchell was found guilty of killing his son he should be executed.
Mr Mitchell, reportedly from the Glasgow area, said he was also involved with Mr Sampson and the Belgian, identified as Raaf Schifte, in the second Riyadh car bombing, on November 22.
That explosion injured three Britons and an Irish woman working for the Boeing-owned Al-Salam aircraft company.
A spokesman for Amnesty International said of the TV confessions: "Secrecy, torture and unfair trials are the hallmarks of Saudi justice."
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Committee names committee to choose Diana fountain(Yahoo: Reuters)
By Giles Elgood
LONDON (Reuters) - The committee set up to decide on where to build a fountain in memory of Princess Diana took action on Tuesday --it appointed another committee.
More than three years after she died in a Paris car crash, the government's Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee said it would assign the job of choosing a location and design for the fountain to a new body, the Fountain Design Committee.
The fountain is expected to cost about three million pounds and will be located in one of central London's parks.
Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, was reported to be annoyed at the lack of progress on the fountain.
"His reaction is exasperation," a friend of the Earl told the Mirror newspaper.
"The memorial has taken far too long. It's reached the stage where it is no longer a surprise that there is another delay."
A proposal to erect the fountain in Kensington Gardens, near Diana's last home at Kensington Palace, is opposed by wealthy residents who do not want the area overrun by fans of the princess.
But in the years since her death in 1997, public interest in the life of the princess has begun to decline.
The fountain committee, which includes landscape designers, architects and art experts, will be chaired by Rosa Monckton, a close friend of the princess who went on holiday with her.
Once a site has been chosen, the Fountain Design Committee will run a design competition for a fountain. The best designs will be submitted to the Memorial Committee for a decision before the fountain can start to be built.
The Memorial Committee has already come up with four projects in Diana's memory.
These are children's nursing teams, school awards to celebrate the achievements of young people, a memorial walk through London parks and children's playground, and a commemorative coin.