Prince William celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday with a low-key party - planned by wife Catherine, according to palace officials - and received a $15.5 million inheritance from his late mother as her final gift.
The future king of England has been at the center of public fascination for decades (understatement), making a list of 30 things you may or may not know about him royally fitting.
1. Prince William is the eldest son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Wales and is next in line for the British throne after his father.
2. He was born on June 21, 1982 at 9:03 p.m. at St. Mary's Hospital, West London, weighing in at 7 lbs. 5 oz.
3. He was the first royal baby to wear disposable diapers.
4. His parents called him Wombat. Kate is said to call him Big Willie.
5. His real name is William Arthur Philip Louis Mountbatten-Windsor.
6. He was named after Prince William of Gloucester, his father's cousin who died in a 1972 plane crash while piloting in a competition.
7. Before getting married, his official title was His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.
8. After tying the knot, Queen Elizabeth II officially gave him the title His Royal Highness, Duke of Cambridge, as well as two additional titles: Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.
9. He is a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry, a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.
10. He is a lefty.
11. A seven-year-old Prince William famously told Princess Diana that he wanted to be a policeman so he could look after her. Five-year-old Prince Harry fired back with: "Oh, no you can't. You've got to be King!"
12. He speaks fluent French and has studied Welsh.
13. Harry Potter got his famous scar when Lord Voldemort tried to avadra kedavra him. Prince William got his when a friend lost his grip on a seven iron.
14. He is a natural athlete and excels at soccer, skiing, polo, rugby, tennis, hockey, rafting, rowing, shooting, and horseback riding.
15. When Prince William was just 13, he confessed his crush on Cindy Crawford to Princess Diana. She in turn, arranged for them to meet.
16. At age 16, Prince William had a minor operation on his left index finger. He broke it playing rugby.
17. Princes William and Harry planned a concert in London to mark their mother's 46th birthday, and the 10th anniversary of her death. In a statement, William said the concert would be: "full of energy, full of the sort of fun and happiness which I know she would have wanted."
18. When asked who would win an arm wrestling contest with Prince Harry, he has said: "It's not even a contest. Obviously I'd win. As the bigger brother you have that psychological power over your brother."
19. After graduating from Eton, he took a year off to work in Chile, Belize and Africa.
20. Revealing what he would do if he were invisible for a day, he has said: "I'd probably get myself in a lot of trouble. I'd probably go into the newspaper office, and I'd hide in the background and listen to all the stories they talk about me."
21. He enrolled at St. Andrews University in Scotland as William Wales. However, friends called him Steve to keep the tabloids from telling tales.
22. Britney Spears claims Prince William once stood her up. "We exchanged e-mails for a little bit, and he was supposed to come and see me somewhere, but it didn't work out," she told a British TV host in 2002. Thinking he dodged a bullet with that one. Just saying.
23. In honor of his 21st birthday, Britain's Royal Mail printed his face on more than 20 million stamps.
24. According to the BBC, William has said he intends to reinstate his mother's title once he is king. He has also said not a day goes by that he doesn't think of her.
25. All six feet three inches of him have been immortalized in wax at Madame Tussaud's in London.
26. He's said to love noshing cottage pie, chocolate biscuit cake, poached eggs and venison fresh from his father's estate, and banana flan (similar to banana cream pie) he used to eat with his mother.
27. When asked about his brother by Matt Lauer, Prince Harry says: "He enjoys himself more than people think. You know, he works very hard. He's definitely the more intelligent one of the two of us."
28. Rumor has it he told the Queen and the Prince of Wales about his engagement to Kate Middleton two hours before it was announced publicly. Somehow, that one's pretty hard to believe.
29. According to the BBC, more than 24 million people in the United Kingdom watched his wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, with 23 million tuning in from the U.S. He reportedly slept only 30 minutes the night before.
30. He is the patron of various charities, including Centrepoint, an organization for homeless youth, and the Tusk Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of African wildlife, just to name a few.
Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles
