Happy Birthday to Prince William Duke of Cambridge

Today, June 21, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, celebrates his 40th birthday! Here's everything you need to know about Britain's future king.

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, is the second in line to the throne and the elder son of The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. His Royal Highness is married to The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine, with whom he has three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The family's official residence is Kensington Palace. His Royal Highness undertakes a number of charitable activities and projects and carries out public and official duties in support of The Queen, in the UK and overseas.

🥳 Happy Birthday to The Duke of Cambridge!

As the second in line to the throne turns 40, learn more about His Royal Highness 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/9WXk7kBiT9

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 21, 2022

Conservation

Conservation work and supporting communities to protect their natural environment for future generations has been one of The Duke's key priorities for a number of years. His Royal Highness has publicly supported initiatives to fund conservation, community development and environmental education programmes across Africa as Royal Patron of the Tusk Trust, in a bid to highlight the inspiring conservation work that is being undertaken to a global audience. 

Through the Royal Foundation, The Duke has founded 'United for Wildlife' an unprecedented collaboration between seven of the world’s most influential conservation organisations committed to tackling the global challenges that threaten the world’s natural resources.

An area of particular interest to The Duke is the illegal wildlife trade, which has seen United for Wildlife bring together an international task force, chaired by William Hague, to deal head-on with the trafficking of illegal wildlife products, by collaborating with key contacts in the international transport industry. In March 2016, The Duke unveiled an ambitious, transport industry-led Declaration developed by the transport sector to crack down on illegal wildlife trafficking routes, signed by global transport leaders at Buckingham Palace.

Young people

The Duke of Cambridge is committed to helping children and young people to build their skills, confidence and aspirations. Through his charitable work, His Royal Highness has strived to raise awareness of how serious issues can affect young people, for example, homelessness and bullying. In 2016, The Duke convened a new industry-led taskforce to develop a shared response to the online bullying of young people.

The Duke also champions the benefits of equipping young people with essential skills and training to enhance both their personal and professional lives, in particular by highlighting youth-engaging programmes, such as those run by Coach Core and Skillforce, that work with the hard-to-reach and make a difference to young people and their surrounding communities.

The Armed Forces

Having completed seven-and-a-half years of full-time military service, promoting the important role and the welfare of those who are serving or who have served their country in the Armed Forces is a key focus for The Duke's charitable activities. Through their programme of official engagements, both The Duke and Prince Harry have shone a light on the ongoing challenges facing service personnel making the transition to civilian life.   

As Patron of the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Honorary Air Commandant of Royal Air Force Coningsby, His Royal Highness has also drawn attention to the crucial role played by UK air defence, alongside recognising and commemorating its important history.

The Duke of Cambridge, like his wife The Duchess of Cambridge and his brother, Prince Harry, also directs his charitable activities through The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The Foundation develops programmes and charitable projects based on the interests of Their Royal Highnesses by working with organisations which are already making a proven impact in their respective fields. The Royal Foundation provides additional investment, mentoring, support and partnerships for these programmes, and lends its own profile and leverage to enhance the effect of their good work.

Heads Together

In 2017 The Duke spearheaded the Heads Together mental health campaign with The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, leading a coalition of eight mental health charity partners to change the national conversation on mental health. The campaign aimed to build on existing progress nationwide in tackling stigma, raising awareness, and providing vital help for people with mental health problems. 

The coalition of charities covered a wide range of mental health issues and worked in areas that were in line with The Duke and Duchess and Prince Harry's interests. They were: the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families; Best Beginnings; CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably; Contact (a military mental health coalition); Mind; Place2Be; The Mix; and Young Minds. 

Heads Together was privileged to be the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity of the Year giving the campaign a positive platform to raise funds for the charity partners and to start millions of conversations about mental wellbeing. 

* This official biography was published initially on the Royals official website - royal.uk.