Portrait of William, Prince of Wales

Birthday profile

William, Prince of Wales

William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne

Born
June 21, 1982
Age in 2026
44
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1982

About William, Prince of Wales

William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. He was educated at Wetherby School, Ludgrove School, and Eton College. He earned a Master of Arts degree in geography at the University of St Andrews, where he met his future wife, Catherine Middleton. They have three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis. After university, William trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before serving with the Blues and Royals. In 2008, he graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell and joined the RAF Search and Rescue Force in early 2009. From July 2015, he served for two years as a full‑time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. William performs official duties and engagements on behalf of the monarch. He is patron of multiple charitable and military organisations, including the Tusk Trust, Centrepoint, The Passage, Wales Air Ambulance, and London's Air Ambulance Charity. Through the Royal Foundation, his work focuses on mental health, conservation, homelessness, and emergency workers. In 2020, he launched the Earthshot Prize, an initiative to incentivise environmental solutions. William was made Duke of Cambridge immediately before his wedding in April 2011. He became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay upon his father's accession to the throne on 8 September 2022. The following day, he was made Prince of Wales. When he was nine months old, William accompanied his parents on their 1983 tour of Australia and New Zealand, marking his first trip overseas.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when William, Prince of Wales was born

William, Prince of Wales was born in 1982. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1982

  • #1 song"Physical" – Olivia Newton-John
  • Top movieE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
  • Top TV showDallas
  • Best-selling bookThe Color Purple – Alice Walker

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentItaly wins the FIFA World Cup in Spain
  • Top headlineFalklands War between UK and Argentina
  • Technology milestoneCompact disc (CD) released commercially
  • Defining fadValley Girl speak
  • Notable inventionCompact disc (CD)
  • World population4.61 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRonald Reagan
  • Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
  • Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population231.7M

1982 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in William, Prince of Wales's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19822026
Gas$1.22$3.45/gal
Average home$67,800$435,000
Average income$23,433$67,500
Minimum wage$3.35$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.94$11.95
Postage stamp$0.20$0.73
Population231.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.