Photos: Prince William through the years
As the first-born child to the late Princess Diana and the Prince of Wales and second in line to the British throne, Prince William has never been far from the public eye. Click through the gallery for a look back at every year of his life so far. AFP/Getty ImagesPrince Charles and Princess Diana leave St. Mary’s Hospital in London with Prince William on June 22, 1982. A bulletin announced that the royal baby weighed 7 pounds, 1 1/2 ounces. Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty ImagesPrince William takes his first steps in public with his parents in the walled garden at Kensington Palace on December 14, 1983. Anwar Hussein/Getty ImagesAccompanied by his nanny Barbara Barnes, Price William waves as he leaves St. Mary’s Hospital after visiting his mother and his newborn brother, Prince Harry, on September 16, 1984. PA Images/Alamy Stock PhotoFrom the balcony of Buckingham Palace, a young Prince William watches the Trooping of the Color in 1985 with Lady Gabriella Windsor, left, and Lady Zara Phillips. PA Photos/LandovPrince William waves from a carriage en route to the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson on July 23, 1986. Sahm Doherty/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesPrince William attends his first day at Wetherby School on January 15, 1987. Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty ImagesIn 1988, Prince Charles and Princess Diana visit Palma De Mallorca, Spain, with their two sons. Anwar Hussein/Getty ImagesPrince William and Prince Harry ride bicycles with their parents in 1989 while on holiday in the Scilly Isles. PA Images/Getty ImagesOn a private beach in 1990, Prince William shovels sand onto his mother. Photos of the young prince with his adoring mother were common as media interest swelled. Rob Taggart/Reuters/AlamyPrince William and Prince Harry wave from the deck of the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1991. Anwar Hussein/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesPrincess Diana and Prince William wait for Prince Harry after attending the annual Easter Sunday church service in 1992 at St. Georges Chapel inside Windsor Castle. Dylan Martinez/ReutersPrince William grimaces after riding Splash Mountain at Disney World’s Magic Kindom in Florida. He was with friends of the royal family on a three-day vacation in 1993. Bob Pearson/AFP/Getty ImagesAccompanied by Prince William, Princess Diana arrives at Wimbledon before the start of the women’s singles final in 1994. Adam Butler/PA Images/Getty ImagesQueen Elizabeth II, Prince William and Prince Charles attend a service commemorating VJ Day outside Buckingham Palace in August 1995. The event was in honor of the day Japan surrendered to Allied forces, effectively ending World War II. Andrew Winning/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince Charles and Prince Harry, at left, stand for anthems as Prince William, right, looks around during the Wales-Scotland game in the 1996 Five Nations rugby championship. Ben Radford/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesAt age 15, Prince William and his brother Harry, 12, bow their heads after their mother’s funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997. Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris that August. Adam Butler/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince William receives flowers from an adoring crowd in Vancouver on March 24, 1998. He was on a weeklong vacation with his father and brother, though they also made time for official engagements. Kim Stalknecht/AFP/Getty ImagesBritain’s Queen Mother joins Prince Charles and his sons during an occasion marking her 99th birthday at her London residence in 1999. Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesPrince William hammers a log while helping construct walkways in a remote village in Chile during his Raleigh International expedition in 2000. Toby Melville/AFP/Getty ImagesIn 2001, Prince William, left, and Prince Harry take part in an exhibition polo match in Gloucestershire, England. Anthony Harvey/Getty ImagesThe royal family stand vigil besides the Queen Mother’s coffin at Westminster Hall on April 8, 2002. Prince William, right, stands alongside Prince Harry, Princess Anne and Sophie of Wessex. Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty ImagesA London officeworker licks a first-class stamp that was issued to mark Prince William’s 21st birthday in 2003. Commemorative coins were also minted for the occassion. Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince William makes his water polo debut for the Scottish national universities squad in the annual Celtic Nations tournament in 2004. Barry Batchel/AFP/Getty ImagesIn 2005, Prince William graduates from St. Andrews University in Scotland with a degree in geography. Bruno Vincent/Getty ImagesQueen Elizabeth glances up at her grandson, right, as she inspects the parade at the Royal Military Academy in 2006. Prince William graduated as an Army officer and later went on to receive his Royal Air Force pilot’s wings Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince William and Prince Harry speak on stage with Sir Elton John, far left, during a concert they put on to celebrate Princess Diana on July 1, 2007. The event fell on what would have been their mother’s 46th birthday and marked 10 years since her death. Getty ImagesPrince William sports a beard for the first time in public at a Christmas Day church service in 2008. He was clean-shaven by early January. Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesPrince William walks with a group of homeless people during a 2009 hike with Centrepoint, the United Kingdom’s largest youth charity for the homeless. William became the patron of the organization in 2005. ohn Giles/WPA Pool/Getty ImagesDuring his first official overseas visit, Prince William is welcomed to Sydney with a traditional smoke ceremony by local Aboriginal elder Uncle Max in 2010. Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Getty ImagesAfter their wedding service, Prince William kisses his wife, Kate Middleton, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011. Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince William throws a foam javelin as his wife, now the Duchess of Cambridge, stands at his side during a visit to Nottingham, England, on June 13, 2012. The couple were in the city as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee tour, marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. Phil Noble/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Duke and Duchess of Cambridge depart St. Mary’s Hospital in London with their newborn son on July 23, 2013. Prince George was born a day earlier, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Scott Heavey/Getty ImagesPrince George and his parents celebrate his first birthday at a butterfly exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London on July 2. John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images
