Prince William has had a busy year.
The Duke of Cambridge celebrated his first anniversary with Catherine Middleton and toasted Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. And on Thursday, he adds another milestone to his list: his 30th birthday.
He's now also legally entitled to half of his mother's inheritance, which was left to him after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997. His half of the inheritance, according to The Daily Telegraph, would likely be around $15.5 million, with the current currency exchange rate. (What William can buy with that chunk of change)
William has been in the spotlight as the eventual heir to the British throne since early childhood. He's endured his parents' breakup, his mother's death and his own big royal wedding all while the world watched along with him.
The Duke of Cambridge has recently said he and his wife are excited about the prospect of bringing a child into the world.
“I’m just very keen to have a family, and both Catherine and I, you know, are looking forward to having a family in the future," he told ABC's Katie Couric before the Diamond Jubilee.
To celebrate William's big day, we wanted to take a look back at his life. After all, many people would say that he and Catherine have helped the royal family become popular again by making the monarchy more accessible to the public.
Click through the gallery above to see William's evolution from Diana and Charles' lovable young son to the Duke of Cambridge.
More on Prince William:
How William, Kate and Harry made royals cool
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From your commentary, it is quite clear that they are far less of a waste of space than you are. Your ignorance is astounding. You sound like an angry twelve-year-old from a disadvantaged home – vicious and unintelligent at the same time, but without the excuse. An awesome combination.
When I look at this guy, only one word comes to mind. Doüche.
AGREE.....BUT one more word also..."BAG"
This is to LA...."My ignorance is astounding"
REALLY.....WHY....because I disagree with something and am not BOWING down and glorifying something as stupid as the royals??? Tell me "LA" what does that family do for their country....tell me ANYTHING!!!!!
You are a laugh! Look up the word "Ignorance" and get back to me because I am positive you said the same thing as I did.....only back to me.
You are a WASTE of space also.......Long live the Queen!!!!!!!! HOOO RAH!!!!!!
Hey Katie.....the Royal Family unites the country, and by the way, the country earns more money than it spends on the Royals because of the tourism dollars they bring in. You shouldn't make comments before you know the facts.
@Katie A:
Did you grow up so disadvantaged that you despise people born into wealth and privilege? The Royals of Great Britain are, from the moment they are born, thrust into the spotlight and stay there for the entirety of their lives in this modern era. To them, it is more than a privilege to be a member of the Royal family. Along with being a royal comes duty to their country and subjects, to represent them and their interests on the world stage. You only have the responsibility to yourself, they have a responsibility to a nation.
Am happy for him. Why not be?
That is exactly where you think from.....how inappropriate are you??
Get out of your hole and get some air......bet you haven't seen the sun for quite some time...huh????
Yeah you are right "Proud Canuck".....because it is not hard to "unite" a country full of bumbling idiots!!
So they are like living in a dollhouse or a petting zoo?? People go to see them and pay money for it??
The rest of the world is crumbling and the queen still dresses like an Easter Peep........
Just because they bring in "tourisim dollars" doesn't mean it is going back to the economy!!
The city of London was bankrupt after the Royal wedding because of the security used.....NOTHING was compensated by the royal family......explain that....
Have to agree with Katie...
You might have a point somewhere in your incoherent ramble about you hate the royal family, but in no way is william to blame for receiving money from his mom. In fact, England is doing quite well compared to the rest of Europe. I'm going to go ahead and assume you've never been there or probably outside of "cali." I'm from southern california and no one calls it that except for retarted tourists, thus you're either retarted, a tourist or both. Stop being such a hater, and live your own damn life
City of London never went bankrupt with the security costs for the royal wedding? Where do you make such stuff up?
So Lady Diana Spencer left her son a tidy sum. No different from, let's say, a Vanderbilt, Trump or Forbes leaving money to their heirs. After all, the Spencers are an oldold English family, with a far longer lineage than the Windsor//Mountbatten/Battenberg clan of German princelings, Being on the right side does pay dividends, time after time. So, even if he's losing his hair, he's tall, fit as a fiddle, good-looking, with a gorgeous wife who obviously adores him and knows to a T which side her bread is buttered on. Good luck Wills, and here's to many more happy birthdays!
Big difference between the Royals and someone with alot of money such as the Vanderbilt's.....
At least we don't have to WATCH the vanderbilt's (thank GOD) on TV every time they sneeze.......
There are too many people with NOTHING to do in this world but watch the Royal family....quite sad...
and totally out of touch with anything else in the world....it is like all women everywhere get to play house again and find their prince.....what a nauseating bubble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"his wife...."knows to a tee which side her bread is buttered on"
Are YOU for REAL????
Wow we live in a world of people who will buy into ANYTHING.....what do you have to base that on ????
That she is pretty and comes from a RICH family???or that she MARRIED a prince and lives in a Fairy tale world???
I will say again......WOW....I guess IGNORANCE is BLISS!!!!!!!!!!
Hmm, I wouldn't say he's all that good looking, D&PW.
must be nice to have money....for the rest of us back to working...
Picture # 19 says she was 99 years old in 1999. Am I missing something or is she much older than I thought?
Tradition is very important. The UK goes back more that 1500 years. Magna Carta was coined by them, which led to Democracy today. Some countries have figure head presidents while the country is run by a Prime Minister. Some countries have Queens or Kings as heads of State. They reign but don`t govern. If the Britts are for upholding their traditions, you can make all the shrill noises you want, it will still not change anything. You may like them or not, just be civil about it.
How crass. Don't you think he would rather have his mother than the money?
James Hewitt, Will Carling, Barry Manake, James Gilbey, Oliver Hoare, Dodi Fayed... Diana was a well-plowed field. She brought the Kingdom together because she shared her loins with the whole island!
Happy 30th from one of many of your cousins in the US. We're related via Elizabeth of Bohemia so we're 11th cousins. Wishing you many more happy birthdays to com. GSTQ.
He seems to have turned out to be a nice young man, as did his brother. Happy Birthday.
Lady Diana shared the royal pooty in the interest of international relations. Can I get some of thay sweet thing, Lady Diana?
The British Royal family are essentially figureheads that bring the country together. And sure, they might burn up a few piles of pounds every now and then, but it's what brings the UK together, and it's who they are. People who don't understand this on the get-go, probably never will. The British people see them as symbols of hope, unity and duty.
After living in the United states for awhile, what baffled me was the lack of general respect towards other cultures, and the lack of knowledge on other countries as well. It might be the location I decided to land in, but...honestly, I've heard people throw comments like "Yeah, we showed 'em at Hiroshima" or "Why is our president bowing to other presidents? that's just a sign that we're no longer on the top".
It's called culture. Americans have culture too, as hard as it was to believe before, but so little people embrace what being "American" truly means, and kinda sit back on the arrogance horse.