William VI of the United Kingdom

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William VI
Duke of Hanover
Medium
Reign15 January, 1997 - 13 October, 2017
Coronation20 March, 1997
PredecessorCharles III
SuccessorAlexandra
BornWilliam Edward Charles
(1950-12-17) 17 December 1950 (age 73)
Balmoral Castle, Scotland
SpouseConnie Nielsen
(1989 - 1993, engaged)
Issue
Full name
William Edward Charles
HouseHanover
FatherCharles III
MotherLauren Bacall
ReligionProtestant
Military service
Branch/service
Years of service1979-1983 (active service)
RankCaptain
Battles/warsThe Troubles
Falklands War
Multinational Force in Lebanon

William VI (William Edward Charles; born 17 December 1950) was King of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2017. In 1995, he married the Norwegian princess Märtha Louise with whom he has four children: Alexandra, Richard, Alistair, and Mary. As King, he oversaw the final years of the decades-long Cold War conflict with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite his constitutional status however, he was instrumental in promoting continued relations between the United Kingdom and its allies in Asia through his respective state visits to the continent. In the years 1984 and later 2018, he became the first British monarch to receive a decoration from the governments of Taiwan and China respectively.

Following a sudden health crisis and upon the recommendation of the then Prime Minister, an ageing William abdicated the throne in favour of his daughter who ascended to the throne as Queen Alexandra while styling himself as Duke of Hanover, becoming the second British monarch to do so after his own father Charles III in 1997. He has been living alongside his family ever since and is reported to be in stable condition.

Early Life

William was born on the 17th of December, 1950 to the then Charles, Prince of Wales and American actress Lauren Bacall. In heavy contrast to his predecessors, he was the first royal ever to be born of a mother who was neither royal nor British by original nationality or by ancestral meanings, which generated a degree of controversy and interest surrounding the young prince. Following his baptism, he was formally given the name William Edward Charles, which alluded to that of his deceased uncle, his grandfather and his father, then a Prince of Wales.

On July 7th 1951, he was subsequently made Prince of Wales following the death of his grandfather, as his father instead ascended to the throne as sovereign under the regnal name of Charles III.

Prince of Wales

As the Prince of Wales, William frequently traveled alongside his parents in their state visits to allied countries, and as he was only a young child, extreme levels of security were a priority for whenever the young William would come along with his parents in their overseas trips. However, following an assassination attempt in 1953, the royal family withdrew to Canada where this time, he was allowed to freely interact with the common people to a certain extent. Like his grandfather, William greatly enjoyed the Canadian scenery, frequently indulging himself in physical activities, namely hunting and others.

Following their subsequent return to Britain, the royal family's standings had gradually improved, with the public showing a sizable amount of approval for their formerly resented king and queen. Upon reaching the age of majority, William was first made a Counsellor of State, to which he would then began subsequently carrying out royal functions on behalf and delegated to by his father.

In 1972, William decided to first hold a regional tour around Scandinavia as part of his first few state visits, where his visits to all three Scandinavian countries were greatly received in both countries, despite allegations claiming that his tour was to dramatically influence the neutral-aligned countries of the region into the NATO cause.

Abdication

Despite having reached 67 years old of age, William was consistently described as a "generally healthy, and well-conditioned man", aside from being regularly seen playing a game of polo with the palace staff and his close associates during his free time. However, on October 6, having just went back to his chambers alongside his wife, the King unexpectedly collapsed onto his bed while the latter had went inside the chambers' bathroom. Under a minute later, royal doctors were immediately summoned following signs of a weakened pulse, where he was then transferred to a special room for an operation. At the same time, by his wife's insistence, both the British and Pakistani governments agreed to preserve details of his operations from ever being publicised, as to not jeopardise his daughter's ongoing state visit to the country. Following an initial operation, he was declared to be in a "mildly stable" condition but soon after that, subsequent operations were also conducted which lasted until just hours before his daughter Alexandra's return from her state visit.

In light of the incident, William began seriously contemplating in an abdication, the decision which he made it known to the then Prime Minister Theresa May, whom he had specifically invited to Buckingham Palace for the matter. Discussions between the two would continue until the 10th of December when in a coordinated manner, William first declared his abdication at 10:30 AM in a BBC broadcast from Buckingham Palace before an Act of Parliament was granted royal assent by the King himself, thereby effectively formalising his abdication. In his abdication speech, William chose not to publicly disclose the incident prompting his abdication, having instead citing "ill-health and inability to sustain the continuation of royal duties" as his reasons for abdicating. He subsequently attended his daughter and successor's coronation.

Post-Abdication

Following his abdication, William promptly took an initial period of rest for approximately five months before returning to his royal duties, albeit on a periodical basis. On May 2018, he embarked on a second state visit to China, the first of which since his abdication where he reassured Chinese premier Xi Jinping of a sustained bilateral relationship between the two countries. On the October of the same year, a widely acclaimed broadcast of the former King urging King Salman of Saudi Arabia to reprimand his officials believed to be involved in the attempted kidnapping of Queen Alexandra was publicly released a few hours prior to the sentencing of the perpetrators. While he was criticised by a few for allegedly "overstepping" his limits as the most senior member of the British royal family, though he received general acclaim and praise otherwise by internationial observers.

Marriage

As William's parents had chosen a rather informal and morganatic approach to marriage, prospects of the young William in exemplifying his parents were largely encouraged. Consequently, William frequently indulged himself in events concerning the country's nobility and celebrity circles. Rumours of his alleged relationships with several prominent women became a common theme for local tabloids, but at the same time, neither were officially confirmed. However, from 1979 to 1985, the prince was in a lengthy relationship with Austrian-American actress Sybil Danning. The couple later peacefully separated over issues concerning work and residence. Nevertheless, Danning herself would later attend his own coronation in 1997.

In 1989, the royal palace announced the surprise engagement between William and a young Danish actress by the name of Connie Nielsen. Following the announcement, Nielsen and William began to appear together in public, with Nielsen herself frequently accompanying the prince on both his local and state visits. Three years later, the couple officially broke off their engagement, albeit in a peaceful manner. Regardless, both William and Nielsen remained close partners in the aftermath of their separation, with Nielsen herself being made a viscountess on the same year, alongside a British citizenship before subsequently marrying William's brother of the same name three years later. At the same time, the end of their engagement raised concerns over the question of William's successor. Compounding this was William's own age, in which he was already in his 40's.

In the months following his separation, William was first introduced to the Norwegian princess Märtha Louise, who is almost 20 years his junior during a state visit to Norway. Throughout the following months, the two decided to pursue a relationship, albeit in a private manner before they were officially wed in 1995. Though their marriage were partially received with despair as it was hoped that William was to marry a commoner, the wedding was greatly received and publicised by both the British and Norwegian medias. After only a few months into their marriage, their first child, the current Queen Alexandra was born. Through their respective ancestors, William and Märtha Louise are distant cousins as Märtha Louise's grandmother was the sister of Astrid who had in turn, married William's great uncle Frederick, the Duke of Clarence of Avondale.

Despite the glaring age difference, the couple enjoyed a well-built marriage in which throughout the succeeding years, they received the birth of their twin sons, Richard and Alistair and an another daughter, named Mary.

Personal Information

Titles & Honours

  • 17 December 1950 - 7 July 1951 His Royal Highness Prince William of Cambridge
  • 7 July 1951 - 15 January 1997 His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
  • 15 January 1997 - 13 October 2017 His Majesty The King
  • 13 October 2017 - 22 December 2017 His Royal Highness Prince William
  • 22 December 2017 - Present His Royal Highness The Duke of Hanover

Honours

National & Commonwealth

Foreign

  •  Spain - Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
  •  Norway - Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St Olav
  •  Norway - ​Recipient of the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Olav V
  •  Norway - Recipient of the Royal House Centenary Medal
  •  Norway - ​Recipient of the King Harald V Silver Jubilee Medal
  •  Sweden - Member of the Royal Order of the Seraphim
  •  Sweden - Commander Grand Cross - of the Royal Order of the Sword
  •  Denmark - Knight of the Order of the Elephant
  •  Denmark - Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog
  •  Germany - Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  •  Japan - Collar and Grand Order of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
  •  Japan - Golden Medal of Merit Japanese Red Cross
  •  Japan - Golden Medal of Honorary Member of Japanese Red Cross
  •  France - Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour
  •  Malaysia - Honorary Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm
  •  China - Recipient of the Order of Friendship
  •  Republic of China - Recipient of the Order of Brilliant Jade

Ancestry

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