Prince William Turns 42: Ten Facts About Britain’s Future King

Prince William is one of the British monarchy’s key players, taking a prominent role in the modernization of the institution which he one day will become the head of.

As the eldest son of King Charles III, William is very likely to be next to inherit the throne, but how much do we really know about him?

Here, Newsweek looks at 10 facts about Britain’s future king as Prince William celebrates his 42nd birthday.

1. Named in Tribute

Prince William has four names, in full: William Arthur Philip Louis.

“William” is believed to have been chosen by King Charles as a tribute to his cousin, Prince William of Gloucester, who died in a plane crash at the age of 30 in 1972 when Charles was 23. The prince was the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, Prince Henry the Duke of Gloucester. William eschewed a military career for one in the civil service. He was an experienced pilot and worked for a number of years in Tokyo and Nigeria with their British embassies.

The name Arthur paid tribute to Charles himself, who has it as one of his own middle names.

Philip was chosen in honor of William’s grandfather, Prince Philip.

Louis was chosen as a tribute to Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. The earl was very close to Charles and his assassination in a 1979 political bombing is said to have affected the then-prince deeply.

2. Harry Potter Scar

Prince William has a small scar on his forehead which he has referred to as his “Harry Potter scar” for its likeness to the one shared with J.K. Rowling’s fictional wizard.

When he was 8 years old, the royal was accidentally struck with a golf club while playing with friends, resulting in a mad dash to a hospital where it was determined he had a fractured skull and needed to be transferred to the Great Ormond Street hospital in London for surgery.

King Charles followed his son’s ambulance in his famous blue Aston Martin sports car and he was soon joined by Princess Diana, who spent the night at the hospital.

In 2009, William spoke with a young patient of the Great Ormand Street children’s hospital in London, telling them that he too had once been treated at the facility.

“That was for my Harry Potter scar, as I call it, just here,” he said, per the Daily Mail. “I call it that because it glows sometimes and some people notice it. Other times they don’t notice it at all.”

3. 1,000th Knight

In 2008, Queen Elizabeth II instaled Prince William as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. This is England’s oldest and most senior order of chivalry, which has an annual day of ceremonies at Windsor Castle.

Elizabeth appointed William specially so that he would be the 1,000th recorded knight of the order. His name is included on the walls of St George’s Hall at the castle and continues to take part in the Garter Day celebrations each June.

4. Two Decades of Romance

Although Prince William and Princess Kate celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary this year, their relationship has actually spanned over two decades.

The couple met in 2001 while both were studying at the University of St Andrew’s in Scotland. Their relationship reportedly started soon after and it was revealed in the press during a skiing vacation in 2004.

The couple briefly split in 2007 but were back together after only a few months. They announced their engagement in 2010 and were married at Westminster Abbey the following year. Together they have three children: Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (9) and Prince Louis (6).

5. Experienced Pilot

William is a qualified and experienced pilot, earning his wings in the Royal Air Force back in 2008.

The prince served as a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force from 2010 to 2013, after which he retrained to become an air ambulance pilot.

He left the East Anglian Air Ambulance service in 2017 to take up a full-time working role within the monarchy.

6. A Cottage to Call Home

Today, Prince William and Princess Kate call Adelaide Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle home. While they still retain Kensington Palace as a London residence and Anmer Hall in Norfolk as a country retreat, the Wales family is mainly based at the cottage owing to its close proximity to George, Charlotte and Louis’ school.

The cottage was built in the early 19th century for Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. William’s niece Queen Victoria used the residence as a place to take meetings and tea, while she also considered using it as a place to house a pet monkey.

7. No Stomach for Spice

William is not a fan of spicy food, which he has revealed during a number of engagements in recent years.

During a 2023 radio interview with Princess Kate, the prince joked: “I can’t do too much spice, I start sweating and its unattractive.”

“I like the spice,” Kate responded to BBC Radio 1. “So I have to cook the curry and add extra spice at the end.”

William added: “She has to bring it in gently.”

8. Favorite Emoji

In the same interview, William also revealed his favorite emoji.

When asked, he joked that he had to keep his answer PG. “Is this a clean thing or is this a family one?” he said. “I’ve been told not to say the aubergine [eggplant] so I’ve got to pick something else…it would have been the aubergine but I’m saying now—because I’ve got to be all grown up—its the one where the eyes go up and down and the mouth’s out…the crazy one.”

9. Billion Dollar Businessman

In 2022, when his father became king, Prince William automatically assumed a new title and responsibility, that of the Duke of Cornwall.

As duke, William assumed control of the Duchy of Cornwall, an organization which manages a vast historic land and property portfolio with an estimated value of over $1 billion.

The profits generated from the duchy have historically provided the duke with a private income to fund his family and private staff. In the 2022/2023 financial year the profit was £24 million ($30.5 million). Though, as he acceded half way through the financial year the prince did not receive the full amount.

His role involves managing the work of the duchy, including approving investments and the direction of the organization, as well as meeting with tenants and promoting their interests.

10: Core Projects

Prince William has spearheaded two core philanthropic projects in recent years—the Earthshot Prize and Homewards.

The Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020, is a grant-based awards scheme which provides cash injections to five eco-initiatives each year to scale up their efforts to protect and restore the planet.

Homewards is a project launched by Prince William in 2023 which aims to develop a community-level working model to irradicate Britain’s homelessness issue. The scheme provides funding and expertise to city hubs to work with people experiencing homelessness and communities who are particularly vulnerable.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about Charles and Camilla, William and Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.