Prince William, second in line to the throne, is celebrating his 40th birthday.
The father-of-three has been in the royal spotlight from the moment he was born.
The public's first glimpse of Princess Diana and Prince Charles' eldest son was when he was just one day old.
William was born on June 21, 1982, at St Mary's Hospital in London, the same hospital where his three children were also born.
As the eldest son of Prince Charles, William overtook his uncle Prince Andrew in the line of succession.
Just two years later, brother Harry was born, making them the so-called "heir and the spare".
Diana appeared to be acutely aware of the difficult dynamic faced by royal siblings and sought to break the cycle by forging a strong bond between her two sons.
She remained a dedicated mother after her separation from Charles in 1992
The pair divorced in in August 1996.
William was just 15 years old when Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
Harry was only 12.
William told a BBC documentary in 2020 that his mother's death was "pain like no other".
William studied at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he met his future wife Kate Middleton in 2001.
They both studied art history and lived together in a share house.
William and Kate broke up briefly in 2007 but got back together a few months later.
Meanwhile, William started his military career.
He graduated as an army officer from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in December 2006.
William went on to serve in the military for seven-and-a-half years.
He was on active duty in the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force before becoming a civilian air ambulance pilot.
William proposed to Kate during a holiday at a wild game reserve in Kenya in October 2010.
He gave her his mother's blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
They tied the knot at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.
Their eldest child George was born on July 22, 2013.
George overtook his uncle Harry to become the third in line to the throne.
William and Kate's second child Charlotte was born on May 2, 2015.
Charlotte made her Trooping the Colour debut in 2016, appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
William left his job as ambulance pilot in 2017 to take on royal duties full time.
Two years after the birth of their daughter, William and Kate welcomed their second son and third child, Louis.
Louis was born on April 23, 2018.
Like their father, the three children have grown up in the spotlight.
William has said having children brought back painful emotions from his own childhood, but his wife had helped him through it.
"Me and Catherine, particularly, we support each other and we go through those moments together," he said in 2020.
"Emotionally, things come out of the blue that you don't really expect and that you've never really dealt with.
"It's one of the most amazing moments of life, but it's also one of the scariest."
In July 2021, William and Harry unveiled a memorial of their mother for what would have been her 60th birthday.
It was the first time the pair had been together since the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip.
Together, William and Kate, Harry and Meghan were seen as the "Fab Four" when Meghan first stepped out into royal life.
But the couples' relationship deteriorated over time, culminating in Harry and Meghan's resignation as senior royals in early 2021.
While his brother has stepped away, William has stepped up in recent years as the Queen gradually hands over more responsibilities to Charles and William.
At 73, Charles faces the challenges of a post-Elizabethan world as much as his son.
William has demonstrated he is willing to be critical of the House of Windsor and seek to keep the monarchy relevant in modem British society.
During a recent royal tour of the Caribbean, he was receptive to Jamaica's intention on becoming a republic.
"Catherine and I are committed to service," he said.
"For us, that's not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best."
This month, William took to the streets of London to sell copies of the Big Issue, a magazine that supports people experiencing homelessness.
It is part of his and Catherine's ongoing role to position themselves as advocates for issues like homelessness and mental health.
In an article for the magazine, William pledged to "continue doing what I can to shine a spotlight on this solvable issue.
"And while I may seem like one of the most unlikely advocates for this cause, I have always believed in using my platform to help tell those stories and to bring attention and action to those who are struggling," he wrote.
"I plan to do that now I'm turning 40, even more than I have in the past."
with AP
