Prince William: From angry teen and Party Prince to loving father who looks every inch a future King
Today he seems as comfortable on TikTok as with delivering impassioned speeches to the nation – an assured presence on any platform at home or abroad.
Even the public estrangement from his brother Prince Harry has left the Prince of Wales unruffled, outwardly at least.
And as a doting father to George, nine, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, William’s evolution from party prince to future king is now surely complete, with his once famous nights on the town increasingly rare.
William is now central to the running of the Royal Family and a key figure in all the big decisions from the departure of his brother to America to plotting the way ahead for the monarchy itself.
Once known as a Party Prince, William took full advantage of his student years at St Andrews University and his periods of leave from the army. In his twenties, he was often seen living it up in London London’s glitziest nightclubs, including Mahiki (left) and Boujis, now closed, in 2007
Royal statesman and loving father: now in his fifth decade, The Prince of Wales has put his party-loving days firmly behind him. Pictured: with Charlotte, Louis and George and Kate from their 2022 Christmas card
Wind back the decades though to the Prince’s teenage years and William cut a very different character, with the young royal regularly photographed enjoying London’s high society nightclubs including Mahiki and the now-closed Boujis in South Kensington.
He is a less-troubled character, too. Today, the passionate young man who would angrily berate his father in private does his best to present a calm, humorous face to the world, cracking jokes with members of the public – and making surprise appearances on TikTok.
At Eton, William was promoted to prefect and cut a dashing figure in the school’s uniform of a black tailcoat and waistcoat with a starched white collar.
But it was there, at the country’s most exclusive boarding school, that William’s penchant for partying first emerged. By the time he’d enrolled at St Andrew’s University to study geography, the prince was regularly ‘papped’ enjoying student life.
Famously, Prince William met Kate Middleton while both were in the same year at the university.
The couple became friends in their first year before romance blossomed after William saw ‘hot’ Kate strut down a charity fashion show catwalk in a sheer dress. They graduated in 2005 and William proposed five years later.
Their romance wasn’t without one serious wobble though.
Prince William and Catherine Middleton leaving Boujis nightclub in 2007
Prince William pictured at Eton in 2000, after growing up in public, the Prince now appears to be more confident in his role as future king
Today, the couple are happy parents to three young children and, in this picture to mark their graduation from St Andrews, Kate and William seem very much in love. But there was time when William found it hard to make a commitment and their relationship faltered before the engagement the nation had been hoping for was eventually announced
In the spring of 2007, the second in line to the throne’s life in the Army appeared to see him struggling to commit himself to Kate. He enjoyed nights out with his fellow soldiers and reportedly partied with other women at his barracks.
A blonde student who enjoyed a night out with the Prince and his friends while he was training to be an armoured troop commander in Camp Bovington in Dorset described the then 24-year-old royal as the ‘perfect gentleman’; William was also pictured with his arm around an 18-year-old Brazilian student.
The pair announced their dramatic split in 2007. At the time, a ‘close friend’ of the Prince and Miss Middleton told The Sun newspaper: ‘As far as Kate is concerned, William simply hasn’t been paying her enough attention. Kate feels hugely frustrated that their relationship just seems to be going backwards at a rate of knots.’
Just a few months later, William’s fears over committing to Kate appeared to have eased and the couple were reconciled, with the Prince proposing while on holiday in 2010.
Shortly after his graduation, William joined the Army, stating at the time that he didn’t want to marry until he was ’28 or 30′. Prince William had embraced the social life at St Andrews University. Pictured right, he is seen seen in the final year of his four-year degree looking thoughtful in St Salvator’s Quad.
After briefly splitting in 2007, the St Andrews sweethearts were reunited – and William’s commitment issues apparently resolved – and the couple announced their engagement in November 2010
Respect: A teenage William pictured with his grandmother; despite his penchant for partying, the Prince has never wavered in his commitment to public life
At the height of his courtship with Kate in 2008, after his return from a secondment with HMS Iron Duke in the Caribbean, William let his hair down at Raffles in Sloane Square – with the couple spilling out of the club at 3:45am.
While fatherhood has clearly seen Prince William embracing responsibility and middle age, the Duke showed he still loves a night out in 2017, when a then 34-year-old William, already Dad to Prince George, was filmed dancing with fellow skiers in the Farinet nightclub in Verbier.
Prince William skipped a major Commonwealth ceremony with the Queen to party with friends in the Swiss Alps where he was seen enjoying a boozy lunch with a glamorous Australian model.
Hours before other royals attended a service at Westminster Abbey to mark Commonwealth Day, an occasion with deep personal resonance for the monarch, the then 34-year-old future king was drinking and dancing in a club in the upmarket resort of Verbier.
In a series of video clips that emerged, he was seen putting his hands on the waist of a mystery blonde and gyrating with another glamorous clubgoer. William later commented to the BBC that his dad dancing had ‘got me into trouble’.
Loyal to his family as well as the Crown, a 21-year-old Prince William inspects dairy cattle with his father at Home Farm, part of the Duchy of Cornwall, in Gloucestershire
Doting Dad: Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge leaving the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London, with their newborn son, Prince George of Cambridge in 2013
As heir to the throne, William is well aware of the burden he carries. With the grief and tension clear upon their faces, the Prince and Princess of Wales watch Queen Elizabeth’s Lying-in-State at Westminster Hall
Yet as Prince William, now 41, enters his fifth decade, he is every inch the future king. William has played a major part in family discussions for some time now, including the negotiations over the futures of his younger brother, Harry, and his troubled uncle Prince Andrew.
He is on hand to support his workaholic father, the King, and is expected help lead the way as the Royal Family embarks on a world-wide charm offensive following Charles’s Coronation.
Meanwhile, the Cambridge family unit has never appeared more united. The Prince and Princess of Wales frequently carry out public duties together – including for the mental heath charities they support – and regularly share glimpses into their family life.
Today, William looks assured in every situation, whether laughing with teenagers or appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony – seen here with his family during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee
Heirs: Prince Charles and Prince William have maintained a close relationship – after revelations from Prince Harry have seen the once-close brothers estranged
William is taking on an ever greater role within the Royal Family. The heir to the throne played a prominent part in the state funeral for his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II – and in the discussions beforehand
One picture stands out. Taken during a family holiday to Jordan, it shows William sitting between Prince George and Princess Charlotte with his youngest, Prince Louis perched on his shoulders. He beams contentedly as his children roar with laughter.
George, Charlotte and Louis each played a role in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year, with Louis stealing the show with his animated reactions on the Buckingham Palace balcony to an RAF fly-past, and in the stands at the Party at the Palace concert.
Friends have spoken about the importance of William’s family to him. One told the Daily Mail: ‘He just loves being a dad and having a settled family around him.
‘Having children always puts things into perspective… Whatever happens “at work”, he has to go home and be a “normal” person for the sake of his kids, which has made him more at peace with the reality of his other life.’