William, Prince of Wales
[15][16] Diana wished her sons to obtain broader and more typical life experiences beyond royal upbringing, taking them to Walt Disney World, McDonald's, AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.[17] Biographer Robert Lacey asserts that William, a "rambunctious" and "bratty" child, grew "more reflective" with a "noticeably quiet character" as he began boarding school."[17] While at Eton, he often had tea on weekends at the nearby Windsor Castle with his grandmother, discussing state boxes and constitutional duties meant to "prepare [him] as future King.[40] After completing his studies at Eton, William took a gap year, during which he took part in British Army training exercises in Belize,[41] worked on English dairy farms, and visited Africa.[42] As part of the Raleigh International programme in the town of Tortel in southern Chile, William worked for ten weeks on local construction projects and taught English.He focused his dissertation on the Indian Ocean's Rodrigues coral reefs and graduated with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) degree with upper second class honours in 2005.[62][63] In April 2019, Kensington Palace announced that William had completed a three-week internship at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ,[61] during which he was tasked with monitoring extreme Islamist terror cells, identifying potential threats abroad, and observing code breaking technology.[96] In July 2015, William began working full-time as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) based at Cambridge Airport, which he felt was a natural progression from his previous search-and-rescue role.[122][123][124] The couple became engaged in October 2010, at a remote alpine cabin on Mount Kenya, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William's passing the RAF helicopter search and rescue course.[129][130] William and Catherine used Nottingham Cottage as their London home until 2013, when £4.5 million renovations completed at Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, which continues to be their official residence in the capital.[156] In December, the couple visited New York and Washington DC, where William made a speech at the World Bank condemning the illegal trade in wildlife.[176] The tour was a success, helping promote diplomatic relations with Pakistan while also reflecting the couple's personal interests in climate change and the significance of quality education.[180] In December that year, the couple embarked on a tour of England, Scotland, and Wales via the British royal train "to pay tribute to the inspiring work" of communities and charities in 2020.[208] In February 2024, he visited the headquarters of the British Red Cross, where he met humanitarian aid workers supporting civilians during the Israel–Gaza conflict, and called for an end to the fighting in a statement approved by the UK government.In January 2005, he and Harry volunteered at a British Red Cross aid distribution centre to pack emergency supplies for countries affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.[230] In September 2021, it was reported that he had assisted in the evacuation of an Afghan officer, a Royal Military Academy Sandhurst graduate and aide to British troops, from Kabul airport, along with over 10 of his family members, during the 2021 Taliban offensive.[246] William has occasionally commented on the effects of overpopulation on the wildlife of Africa, but his remarks have been criticised in the media for not taking resource consumption and population density into consideration.[251] In 2021 William made a private donation to the Thin Green Line Foundation, which provides grants for the relatives of conservation park rangers that are killed every year while protecting wildlife.[255] William has spoken out for LGBT rights as part of his work against cyberbullying, stating the importance of being "proud of the person you are" and discussing the effects of online abuse and discrimination.[266] In May 2021 and 2022, William and Catherine voiced the Mental Health Minute message, which was broadcast on every radio station in the United Kingdom on and asked people to help individuals around them that suffer from loneliness.[273] In December 2024, he and Catherine announced that they were jointly funding a pilot scheme with the charity Norfolk and Waveney Mind to offer extra support for rural and farming communities on the Sandringham estate.[275] In December 2009, as part of a Centrepoint-organised event, the prince spent the night in a sleeping bag near Blackfriars Bridge to raise awareness of the experiences of homeless youth.[285] In February 2024, William, in partnership with Cornish charity St Petrocs, announced plans for building 24 homes on Duchy of Cornwall land in Nansledan to provide temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness in the area.[296] In February 2021, following an investigation into racism directed at Marcus Rashford, William released a statement as president of the FA, denouncing the "racist abuse... whether on the pitch, in the stands, or on social media" as "despicable" and stating that "we all have a responsibility" to create an environment of tolerance and accountability.[329] An investigation under then Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke concluded that the compromised voice mail accounts belonged to William's aides, including Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton,[330] and not the prince himself."[337] In October 2007, William issued a public statement via his press secretary complaining about the "aggressive pursuit" by "photographers on motorcycles, in vehicles and on foot" while the couple were leaving a London nightclub and later driving in his car.[339] In September 2012, the French edition of Closer and Italian gossip magazine Chi published photographs of Catherine sun-bathing topless while on holiday at the Château d'Autet in Provence.[343] In October 2014, William and Catherine sent a legal letter to a freelance photographer who had put their son George and his nanny "under surveillance", asking the individual to stop "harassing and following" them.[344] In August 2015, Kensington Palace published a letter detailing what it stated were the "dangerous" and invasive efforts of the media to get paparazzi pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.[364] William descends matrilineally from Eliza Kewark, a housekeeper for his 18th-century ancestor Theodore Forbes – a Scottish merchant who worked for the East India Company in Surat.
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