Inside Prince William's Journey to the Throne

William is a very determined man. I think he will be very much a king who knows his own mind. He likes to be in control of his life and in control of the situation around him. I think he takes the role very seriously. I think he believes in monarchy. Some of my earliest memories relate to times that my parents spoke to me, or even better, showed me what it meant to have both privilege and responsibilities. I think when William becomes king, he will be very much more modern and I think he'll be much more the people's king. A job like this is worthwhile and valuable and, to me, there's an element of duty about it. If you didn't know him and hadn't seen photographs, you wouldn't know that he was an heir to the throne. He doesn't have airs and graces at all. He's friendly, he's funny, he's very special. He's got a great deal of charisma. He's kind, he's thoughtful, and that really breaks the ice with anybody. This family has service, sort of, you know, running through them. William has got it, his father's got it, but I think he's also very much, much more a man of the modern age and of the people than any previous monarchs. Crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace throughout the evening. Then, at 10.25, their patience was rewarded with the formal notice of the birth. It was signed by Mr George Pinker, the Queen's gynaecologist, and other doctors who attended the princess. The crowd cheered to the echo. Diana had been the fairy-tale princess and her marriage to Charles was... The public were absolutely ecstatic. And when Diana then became pregnant and announced she was pregnant, again, the public were absolutely thrilled. You know, people were there with champagne bottles and it was a great occasion. When Prince Charles emerged at 11, they roared their congratulations. There was the by now traditional girl waiting to plant a kiss. And the prince told reporters his son was marvellous. I'm obviously relieved and delighted. It's marvellous. It's a rather grown-up thing, I find. Rather a shock to my sister. He's in marvellous form. Does the baby have any hair? Yes. Fair. Fair hair. Sort of blondish. Who does he look like? Who does he look like, sir? You or his mother? You can't tell yet. Is he the prettiest baby in the world? Well, he's not bad. They have been singing, well done, Charlie, let's have another one. Bloody hell, give us a chance. You asked my wife, I don't think she'd be too pleased just yet. The fact that Diana produced a little boy, an heir, I think just further endeared her to the British public. People loved her even more. And when she came out holding Prince William with Prince Charles, images that really just melted, I think, even the most hardened hearts around the country. And it was a cause for great celebration. Britain had come through a difficult time and I think the royal family were giving the country something to look forward to. Being a new mother, there were obviously challenges for Diana, but being a new mother and being a member of the royal family and trying to juggle everything within the confines of Kensington Palace, I think really did take their toll. The skies were clear this morning as the Royal Australian Air Force jet made its approach. Prince and Princess emerged showing no sign of the long flight and obviously well-educated in the right sort of clothes to wear in Central Australia. Diana did make the decision to hire a nanny for Prince William. I think she was always paranoid, as both of the boys were growing up, that they might become too close to their nanny. In fact, she fired one of the nannies, a wonderful woman called Barbara Barnes, who both William and Harry doted on, because it was Barbara Barnes who William would run to and jump into bed with in the morning, not Diana. So there was that constant struggle of wanting to be the perfect mother and wanting to be the perfect princess and I think she found it hard to reconcile those. Remember, she was still very young. William had a traditional aristocratic childhood. His parents were, you know, Diana particularly was a modern parent, but she was a modern aristocratic parent and she did use nannies and the nannies really were the people that William spent most of his time with. He had been a very outgoing little boy. At his first school, he was known as Basher Wills or Basher Wales because he was, you know, quite stroppy and confident. After his early years at Ludgrove School, the young Prince William entered the gates of Eton College, where he fitted in easily to its centuries-old traditions and where he found like-minded people. For their eldest son's big day, the Princess of Wales was in the driving seat, with the Prince of Wales at her side. Eton's most famous new boy was with his younger brother Harry in the back. But from the moment he appeared in front of the cameras, it was clear that the second in line to the throne didn't want to play ball. Head bowed, Prince William looked the other way, his arrival at Britain's top public school marked initially by a spirit of non-cooperation. Accompanied by housemaster Dr Andrew Gailey, the royal family went into Manor House, William's home for the next five years. William enjoyed Eton enormously. He went into a house that was sort of carefully chosen, the housemaster was called Dr Andrew Gailey, and it was a perfect match for William and he was a very sympathetic, kind man and ran a very happy house. Unfortunately, although William enjoyed his time at Eton, it was of course blighted by the tragic death of his mother. Within the last few moments, the Press Association in Britain, citing unnamed British sources, has reported that Diana, Princess of Wales, has died. This is not yet confirmed by any official source. So an unconfirmed source from the Press Association is that Diana, Princess of Wales, has died. I have a terrible feeling that this is true. How does any 15-year-old and 12-year-old cope with that? It was devastating for them, obviously. It wasn't like the death of any normal parent because with the death of a normal parent, you don't have the world grieving. It was almost as though their grief was being devalued by the grief of strangers. William, William. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. On the day of the funeral, William and Harry walked behind the cortege. It was a long walk and there was sobbing and wailing and thousands and thousands of people lining the route. And they walked with their father, their grandfather and Charles Spencer. She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys, William and Harry, from a similar fate. And I do this here, Diana, on your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair. And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you are steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned. We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them in their royal role. But we, like you, recognise the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible, to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us. William and Harry, we all care desperately for you today. We're all chewed up with sadness at the loss of a woman who wasn't even our mother. How great your suffering is, we cannot even imagine. After graduating from Eton, Prince William decided on a gap year. Now he's off to the plains of Patagonia for a ten-week expedition. I wanted to do something constructive in my gap year, rather than... I mean, I could do quite a lot of work, but I thought this was a bit more of a way of trying to help people out and meet a whole range of different people from different countries and at the same time helping people in remote areas of Chile. I think we've very much seen a royal for the new century. Very relaxed, not stage-managed, happy to josh a bit with his father in an informal way, but not scared to say exactly what he's feeling and certainly not prepared to dodge the difficult issues. Through his early voluntary work with Rally International, the young prince set off for Chile, where he spent three months working on various community projects, painting, chopping wood and even cleaning the loos just like everybody else. And he walks out of this competition handheld low, not very happy. There was no question in any of the gap year, actually, that he was a prince and treated differently. He mucked in, he slept in sleeping bags, you know, he cooked food round a campfire, he did everything that everyone else did. A few weeks later, a young Kate Middleton also undertook a similar voluntary role and on that occasion they just missed each other. Prince William loves Scotland and it didn't take him long to decide to continue his education at the University of St Andrews. He did well enough to get not a place at Oxbridge, which could have been fixed for him, there was speculation that he would go to Trinity College, Cambridge, as his father did, but he was sufficient of his own man to say, no, I want to go to Scotland, I like Scotland. He chose St Andrews University, a very ancient university in the kingdom of Fife, and so, by chance, did Kate Middleton. And that, of course, where they were both first-year students, freshers, that's where they met. They spent the first year as undergraduates really getting to know each other. William was not particularly happy in his course, they were both doing history of art and Kate was really great, actually, at trying to keep him focused, keep him incentivised and actually stop him from leaving St Andrews, which was at one point what he wanted to do. He didn't leave, he switched course, and they spent the next four years living together and falling in love. The people of St Andrews are a very close-knit sort of society and they welcomed William with open arms and they were very protective of him. And as a result, you know, he spent life, he spent four years there as a pretty normal student. I think the wonderful thing about St Andrews was it was a bubble away from reality, it was a life that Prince William had never been able to enjoy, whether it was going to the local shops, going to a local bar, going for his morning swim, he could get on with his life and his relationship in private. At all times, they were highly discreet, they were almost never seen together. They were, even with their friends, they didn't allow any gossip to start. People speculated, but there was nothing definite which proved that they were an item. And I think the pair of them absolutely loved those years, they look upon those St Andrews years with great fondness and they are patrons of St Andrews University because they feel such a strong connection to that place. How's university been? I'm going very well. It's not too bad, I've just finished my exams, I've done two, and I've got, well, hopefully no more to take, but I've got my degree dissertation to start preparing, so that's going to take up a bit of my summer holidays. But it's all going to be very well. You've got four months off? I have, yeah. How are you going to fill it? Not long enough. In his own words, it is time now for the big wide world. But today, William's family, like any other, well, almost, came to say a proud farewell to a place that has allowed him a more normal life than any royal in history. That he is deeply grateful is not in doubt, and partly, of course, it's been about this woman. They've been allowed to develop a relationship without front-page scrutiny, and it's helped. Romance did not stand in the way of hard work, and Prince William graduated alongside Kate with a Scottish Master of Arts degree with upper second-class honours. Of course, no graduation would be complete without family to proudly celebrate academic achievement, but there are not many who can include the Queen in their university graduation. William Wales. There's a long tradition of senior members of the royal family going into the armed forces, because, after all, the monarch is head of the armed forces. And it's a useful place, really, for them to be, because, certainly in modern times, because they are away from the prying eyes of the public and the press, the media. It's a useful service. You know, they get to experience danger, and they get to be part of a team, and it's great for leadership and for mixing with people from all walks of life, which is something that, when they're growing up, historically, they didn't really do so much. It's felt that it's extremely important that, if you are going to be head of the military, that, in some way, you would have served. The Queen, in fact, did serve during World War II with the Women's Corps. Elizabeth is in the ATS, or British WAC, and, at the King's request, is being treated just like any other trainee. Queen Elizabeth herself had an active role during World War II and was the first female member of the royal family to serve in a full-time military role. She diagnosed and repaired faulty engines, serving in the ATS. William's grandfather, Prince Philip, served with distinction in World War II and was awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour. Rising through the ranks, the young Prince Philip became one of the youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be promoted to first lieutenant. Prince William's father served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, qualifying as a helicopter pilot in 1974 and joining the 845 Naval Air Squadron, operating from the commando carrier HMS Hermes. Both William and Harry were keen to follow the example of their family and take an active role in the military. After passing the selection process to become an army officer, Prince William took his place at Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy, from which thousands of successful army careers have been launched. Sandhurst used to be filled, I think, with rather dim-witted sons of the aristocracy. Today it is really a very serious academy. It's a very tough course and hugely physical. You pass quite serious exams, academic exams, to get into Sandhurst and then once you're there, the regime is pretty remorseless. William got through it. The cadets at Sandhurst are divided into companies, or divisions as they're called. The senior division always has the honour of carrying the colour, a banner personally given by the Sovereign. And as the senior cadets complete their training, so the colour is passed on. The Academy RSM receives the colour and carries it to the new senior division of the next year. William clearly learnt how to march in step here at Sandhurst. By all accounts he was a natural soldier, considered to be amongst the best in his year. The 44-week training course is gruelling, and it's reported that William found enormous strength during this period and made friends who remain close and loyal to this day. Next year sees the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the spiritual home of the Officer Corps of the British Army. And the high standards which it continues to demand of its cadets have been exemplified by your impressive drill and turnout today. The Academy's principal aim is to develop the qualities of leadership, character and intellect demanded of an Army officer on first appointment. I place that trust in you with confidence. And my prayers for your success and safety will follow you wherever you may be called upon to serve. Graduating with the rank of Lieutenant Wales, William followed his younger brother into the Blues and Royals as a troop commander, which meant a further five-month training at Bovington Camp in Dorset. Harry had been to Sandhurst ahead of William because he didn't go to university, and he had joined the Blues and Royals regiment. William, when he graduated from Sandhurst, when he passed out, he also joined the Blues and Royals. But because of the way that the regiments rotated in their deployments, it was quite clear that William was not actually going to make it to Afghanistan. His regiment wouldn't go there for 18 months. And rather than sit around, kicking his heels, doing training work in this country, he decided to go and look at the other forces. Prince William moved to the Royal Air Force, and in 2008 he completed a 12-week intensive flying training course at RAF College Cranwell. Prince William will arrive here January 2008, and he'll be attached to the Royal Air Force for four months, and during that time there'll be some flying training, and he'll also then go on to operational squadrons to see how the operational side of the Royal Air Force operates. I think everybody's very excited. I know Prince William's keen to come here and learn to fly, and the instructors who have been chosen to teach him are looking forward to it as well. It's a huge honour for all involved, and we have had Royal visitors in the past, and Cranwell especially, with its association with Prince Charles and his flying training, everyone is very much looking forward to it. He's not just another recruit, but we are trying to make him fit in as much as he can, and certainly that's what happened with the Army. So he'll be treated the same as anybody else, he'll wear the same uniform, and those associated with him would call him, as they would any other junior officer in the same rank. How's life in the RAF? Very good. I'm enjoying it very much. Is it very different from the Army? In certain ways, yeah. Otherwise it's still the same sort of camaraderie. I understand you flew your first solo flight yesterday. I did, yeah. How did it go? Well, I'm still here to tell the tale, and I haven't been billed for a plane, so so far it looks all right. But it was one of those experiences where I thought, it'll never come around, and I thought, you know, hopefully a bit longer, yeah, I'll get back to practice. The next thing I know, my instructor jumps out and goes, go on, get on with it, and I was left there, sort of looking around there going, what? So I just did it, and once you get up in the air, it was fine. It wasn't so bad. His father had loved flying, his grandfather had loved flying. It was very much in the blood, I think. And he, and his brother, of course, Harry, loved flying. So the two brothers became helicopter pilots in the end. Once again, proud parents were able to play an active role on graduation day. So he was presenting William with his wings. I mean, he must have felt hugely proud, but also a sort of bittersweet moment for Charles because he himself wasn't able to carry on with his flying career because it was thought too dangerous for the heir to the throne. After serving in both the Army and the Royal Air Force, William was then seconded to train with the Navy, spending three weeks at the Britannia Royal Navy College in Dartmouth. So having learnt to fly an aeroplane, he then went to explore the Navy, to get a taste of the Navy, and he went out to the Caribbean on a drug-policing vessel. And during his time there, he did, he was part of a crew that busted a huge, huge drugs haul worth millions of pounds. So he experienced quite a lot of excitement and probably quite a lot of danger, actually. William extended his Royal Naval Short Service commission for as long as possible, and it's reported that he greatly enjoyed his time in the senior service. But he was called back to the Royal Air Force and promoted to flight lieutenant, taking up training to become a helicopter pilot in the RAF Search and Rescue Service. He was not going into a battlefield. Nobody knew who he was up in a helicopter, and yet it was very real and meaningful work. To me, I didn't join the forces to be, like I said a lot of times before, molly-cuddled or treated any different. And as far as I'm concerned, in my eyes, if Harry can do it, then I can do it. I don't really separate us in that much difference. And I think as future head of the armed forces, it's really important that I at least get the opportunity to be credible and to do the job that I signed up for and to do the best I can. And that's all I ever wanted to do. And the search and rescue role is now slightly different, so obviously being able to go to Afghanistan, but it's still doing an important job. Flight Lieutenant Wales graduated in January 2010 from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury. Prince William then transferred to RAF Valley at Anglesey, becoming the first member of the Royal Family since Henry VII to live in Wales. For the next eight months, he trained on the Sea King helicopter and was assigned to Sea Flight No. 22 Squadron as a co-pilot. Before I started search and rescue, I had a little brief introduction to it, and it was immediate to me. I spent three hours flying with the guys. It was totally apparent to me straightaway how important the job is, the skills the guys employ, the flying aspects, the general airmanship you need to have around you and all the wits you need to survive the weather and whatever sort of situation you're thrown into. It definitely is advanced flying, and it's rewarding, so it put the two together, and it's a fantastic job. It's rewarding because every day you come in to work and you don't quite know what's going to happen. It's quite exciting in that sense. It's unpredictable. But at the same time, it's great that you get to go out and actually save someone's life, hopefully, or at least make a difference to someone. When you know that they're in trouble, you do everything you can to try and get there, and the guys demonstrate that every single day they go out. And with the team environment there is in the cockpit, it's very much a big family in the sky, and the guys do a fantastic job. It's absolutely fantastic. When William first arrived on the squadron, it was a massive shock to all of us. Fairly dumbfounded, really, that somebody with such prestige was coming on to our squadron. But very quickly settled into just one of the guys, one of us, part of the family, certainly. And day to day, you don't even really notice. I suppose in 10, 15 years' time, when we look back on this occasion, it'll seem very, very special and memorable. But he's a great guy to work with. A key moment, it was in 2011, there had been a huge, devastating earthquake in New Zealand, and William said to his private secretary, is anyone from the Royal Family going down to New Zealand? Because if they're not, I would like to go and, you know, represent the Queen and express our sorrow at what's happened. And his private secretary said, you can't possibly do this. You know, you haven't got time. How are you going to work out... You know, you've got these number of shifts you've got to do with search and rescue. He said, it's all right, I've sorted all of that. Just find out whether I can go, whether anyone else is going. So he did, and he went. And he stood side by side with people who'd lost loved ones, homes, businesses. You know, the scenes there were absolutely devastating. My grandmother once said that grief is the price we pay for love. Here today, we love and we grieve. For you, who are so close to these events, and who have lost so much, it must be hard to grasp the degree of admiration, indeed awe, with which you are regarded by the rest of the world. And that was the point at which I think William went from being a young man to a future king. Flying himself into the land, his family have worked for generations. Ian Craig's plane touches down in Lewa, the romantic hideaway Prince William chose to make his proposal. Did you produce the ring? Yeah. There and then? I did, yeah. I'd been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about 3 weeks before that, and I literally would not let it go. Everywhere I went, I was keeping hold of it, cos I knew if it disappeared, I'd be in a lot of trouble. Cos I'd planned it, it went fine. You know, you hear a lot of horror stories about proposing, and things get horribly wrong, but it went really, really well. I was very pleased that she said yes. I think it was very telling that he chose to give Kate Middleton his mother's engagement ring, and he said, I want my mother to be part of this, to be present. Not in a sinister way, of course not, not the ghost at the feast, but there to enjoy the celebrations and the fun of it all, of a great occasion. On the 29th of April 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton married in Westminster Abbey. It was a cause for big celebration. Crowds gathered from far away to take part in the day. After all, Kate would one day become Queen Consort. Like her, the nation took Kate to their hearts, and she has been by his side ever since. This was very much a wedding, their personal wedding. OK, it was very, very public. Obviously it was televised and the world was watching, but it was essentially their private wedding, and that's how they kind of treated it. And it was very touching, and Kate looked absolutely stunning. Like many young newlyweds in the services, duty called and Flight Lieutenant Wales was deployed to the Falkland Islands, becoming part of a four-man crew providing cover for aviation assets and assisting those in need of rescue. Certain rescue pilots here provide 24-hour coverage with a seeking helicopter. They're on duty for a 24-hour period and covering any eventuality. As you've seen, the distances here are quite large. The roads are not fantastic, and if we need to get somebody, military or civilian, to hospital, quite often certain rescue helicopters are the best way of doing it. Balancing home and family life with a career can be difficult. Kate gave birth of their first child, Prince George, in July 2013. The media camped out in excitement to catch a glimpse of the future king. Kate and William greeted the press and introduced Prince George to the world. After this, Flight Lieutenant William Wales took the decision to retire from active service in the Royal Air Force in September 2013. William, I think, at that time, those years, as a search and rescue pilot, he really felt that he did achieve something. It was a real job. There were no concessions for who he was. He wasn't wrapped up in cotton wool. But the time came where the tour of duty came to an end, and I think he left probably with quite a heavy heart, but he'd had a very, very good time there. And I think, you know, he'd absolutely achieved what he set out to achieve. Retirement from active service did not deter the future king from looking to the skies to fulfil his career ambitions and to continue the spirit of service to others. In 2014, it was announced that William would accept full-time employment as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance, based at Cambridge Airport. He made the decision, and it was quite a surprise when he announced he wanted to get back into the cockpit, because, remember, he'd left the RAF. We all thought his flying days were behind him, and actually we'd see the Duke of Cambridge embark on a life of official public duty. Well, that hasn't happened. He's gone back into the cockpit, albeit in a different capacity. He's flying now with the Air Ambulance Service. It's a charity, but it's still a full-time and demanding job. Kate and William had another exciting announcement. They would be having their second child. In May 2015, Kate gave birth to Princess Charlotte, who would be fourth in line to the succession of the throne. How he's going to balance that with his numerous charitable commitments, all of his patronages, and, of course, his official duties, he's taken on investitures now, for example, has yet to be seen. When I spoke to the palace about exactly how he'd manage everything, they seemed incredibly confident in William's ability as a multitasker and someone who will manage to allocate enough time for everything. In April 2018, Kate gave birth to their third child, Prince Louis, who would be fifth in line of succession. Family has remained an important part of life for William, and the country has been pleased to see more of the young princes, George and Louis, as well as Princess Charlotte, at royal events. I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow. Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen, my beloved mother, was an inspiration, an example to me and to all my family. And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example. As my heir, William now assumes the Scottish titles, which have meant so much to me. He succeeds me as Duke of Cornwall and takes on the responsibilities for the Duchy of Cornwall, which I have undertaken for more than five decades. I think he's done so much in such a short time, and he has such respect from people that I don't think people would compare him to his father. I think his father's position of Prince of Wales was unique, and William's position of Prince of Wales is very much William and Catherine together. They are very much a unit, so it's a different sort of force, if you like. William and Kate, I think, have their own idea of what they want to do, and I think you see these two people moving forward and taking the monarchy forward. I say in my book that modernisation is a very hard word to use in the context of the royal family, because the royal family is built on history and tradition and protocol, but actually in William and Kate, you see a future king and queen who are driving it forward and taking it on to the next step. I think he's mindful of history and won't do anything extraordinary, but I think he's also very much, much more a man of the modern age and of the people than any previous monarchs. I think when William becomes king, God willing that he does become king, he will be very much more modern, and I think he'll be much more the people's king. In the fullness of time, when he ascends to the throne as king, he will take inspiration from those who have served before him, whilst modernising the monarchy in his own unique way. I think his role model is the queen, not actually his parents. I think he felt that his parents blurred the distinction between the public and the private. The queen managed to keep her privacy and her personal life much more to herself, and I think William will try and do the same.