Prince William's life in photos as he celebrates 41st birthday
Prince William turns 41 on June 21, only three days after Father's Day, ensuring him a good few days of attention and hand-made cards from his three children.
As the heir to the throne settles into middle age, we reflect on his life in the spotlight.
Prince William's childhood and education
William was born in 1982, in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's hospital in Paddington - exactly where his own children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, were born.
Following royal tradition, he went to Wetherby School, Ludgrove School and then Eton College before taking a gap year ahead of studying at St Andrews University in Scotland.
Famously, that was where he met Kate Middleton. They were friends, then partners (and had a break and got back together) before they married in 2011 at Westminster Abbey.
William's childhood was derailed by the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. To many onlookers' horror, he and his brother, Prince Harry, were expected to walk behind their mother's coffin as it processed to the church for her funeral, alongside their grandfather Prince Philip, father Prince Charles and their uncle, Charles Spencer.
After this trauma, William was granted more privacy during his time at Eton and at St Andrews, where he started by studying Art History but swapped to Geography.
Prince William's early career
Post-graduation, he took on a couple of internships before deciding to follow family tradition and pursue a military career, enrolling at Sandhurst military academy.
William flew for the RAF and the Royal Navy, then took a job with the Air Ambulance in Norfolk. He and Kate lived there and in a rural Anglesey farmhouse which William reportedly loved for the opportunity it gave him to be 'normal'.
Prince William's family life and royal commitments
By 2017, it was time to commit fully to royal duties, and William, Kate, George and Charlotte made Kensington Palace their main home, instead of Norfolk's Anmer Hall, though they still enjoy family time there during school holidays and weekends.
Since then, the family have moved to Windsor Castle.
Now a father of three, William is cementing his new position in the Royal Family as Prince of Wales, which. he inherited when his father became King last September.
So far, William's landmark projects are the Earthshot Prize - which aims to find solutions to the problems facing the world in terms of climate change, and the oceans and will award millions of pounds to individuals and nations to roll them out - and ending homelessness in the UK.
His commitment to mental health projects and the environment, along with his personal touch at engagements, reveals exactly the kind of king he hopes to be.
