Prince William

Prince William, who is to marry his girlfriend Kate Middleton next year, is second-in-line to the throne.

Following intense speculation Clarence House announced that the prince, 28, would marry his long-term girlfriend in spring or summer 2011.

After their wedding - to be held in London - the couple will live in North Wales, where the prince is serving with the RAF.

Flt Lt William Wales graduated in September as an RAF search and rescue pilot, after a 19-month programme which he described as "challenging".

Prince William began his military career after graduating from university in 2005

The prince - who, as monarch, will one day be head of the armed forces - will spend the next three years at RAF Valley on Anglesey, flying rescue missions, potentially all over the UK.

Royal commentator Margaret Holder said she thought the marriage would give Prince William what he really wanted - a warm cosy, family life.

Limited press access

Born William Arthur Philip Louis at 9.03pm on 21 June 1982, weighing just over 7lbs (3kg), he was soon introduced to the public with the first official photographs.

Baby William was christened by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, on the Queen Mother's 82nd birthday on 4 August 1982, in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.

He went to Jane Mynors' nursery school in London in September 1985 and two years later started at Wetherby School.

The prince moved to Ludgrove School in Berkshire in September 1990 where he stayed until entering Eton in 1995.

Prince William - pictured front - has taken up his mother's role in a homeless charity

As a schoolboy he witnessed the breakdown of his parents' marriage, followed by the tragic death of his mother in a car crash in Paris, in 1997.

During their time at school Prince Charles struck a deal with the press whereby William and Harry were left alone in return for limited access at press and photo calls.

William left Eton with A-levels in geography, biology and history of art as well as 12 GCSEs.

During a gap year between school and university he went to Mauritius, spent time in Africa, trekked with the Army in Belize and worked as a Raleigh International volunteer in Chile.

But it was, he says, his short stint working as a labourer on a dairy farm in south-west England that he enjoyed the most.

It was as a undergraduate at St Andrews University in Fife, Scotland, that William met and shared a cottage with fellow student Miss Middleton.

Solo trips

As a student, his 21st birthday - an Africa-themed party at Windsor Castle - involved a security scare when so-called "comedy terrorist" Aaron Barschak gatecrashed the party dressed as Osama Bin Laden.

Following the Asian tsunami in December 2004, he and Harry helped raise £40,000 for survivors by playing in a charity polo match.

The brothers were also shown working as volunteers at a Red Cross centre, putting together aid packages for those affected.

In 2005 William graduated with a class 2:1 degree in geography, making him one of the most academically successful royals.

He then chose to join younger brother Harry for officer training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

The start of his military career, in early 2006, came after several months' work experience, during which he shadowed financial staff in the City of London, acted as a "rescue novice" with a mountain rescue team and learned about land estate management.

 
Kate Middleton and Prince William met at university

While at Sandhurst, William also carried out his first solo engagements, attending ceremonies in Wellington and Auckland on behalf of the Queen to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II.

In 2007 the prince and Miss Middleton spilt up for some months, after six years of intense media pressure.

Early that year former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter said the harassment of Miss Middleton by photographers was akin to the treatment of William's mother Princess Diana.

His comments came after speculation of a royal engagement around Kate's 25th birthday sparked a media scrum outside her house.

An MPs' report that summer said Miss Middleton had been "hounded" by the paparazzi and that the press watchdog, the Press Complaints Commission, had taken too long to protect her.

The couple were soon reunited and Prince William was stepping up his charitable and official duties, as he looked ahead to his future role.

Slept rough

He had become patron to young people's homelessness charity Centrepoint in 2005, following in the footsteps of his mother, who represented the charity from 1992.

In December 2009, he spent a night sleeping rough on the streets of London as part of an event organised by the charity.

William slept in a sleeping bag near Blackfriars Bridge - albeit with a "small element of security" - and afterwards said he could not "even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough night after night".

In 2010, he went on his first official overseas tour, representing the Queen, to Australia and New Zealand.

 
The image of the composed young princes at their mother's funeral is one that many remember

He is also president of the Football Association and has taken on numerous other patronages, including Tusk Trust, the African conservation charity.

And just two days before the announcement of his engagement, the prince joined British troops in Afghanistan to mark Remembrance Sunday.

There has been much sympathy for William, and his younger brother Harry, over the loss of their mother when the older prince was just 15 years old.

Many people clearly remember Prince William walking behind the cortege of his mother at her funeral in Westminster Abbey in 1997, accompanied by his brother, father, grandfather and uncle.

From the start of her relationship with Prince Charles, Princess Diana was often pursued - as she was on the night of her death - by photographers.

Since meeting Miss Middleton, Prince William has been angered by the attention she was receiving from photographers, making it clear via his aides that more than anything he wanted her to be left alone.

With his girlfriend now propelled back into the spotlight as his wife-to-be, the future king may be wondering if he can ever shake off the press interest that has already shaped his life. ( bbc. co. uk )