40 photos of Prince William to celebrate his 40th birthday

The Duke of Cambridge marks his 40th birthday on 21 June

Diana with William at Wimbledon (PA)

The Duke of Cambridge is 40. Prince William’s birthday falls on 21 June, and this year he is marking his four-decade milestone.

His 40th birthday comes just days after the Cambridge’s celebrated Father’s Day by releasing an image of William with his three children, Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four.

To celebrate the Duke’s big day, 40 photos charting William’s life have been compiled to celebrate his 40th birthday.

William, who reaches the milestone on Tuesday, is pictured through the years from his debut as a newborn baby in his mother’s arms and as a toddler trying to walk, to his role as a family man and future King.

The Prince and Princess of Wales amuse baby Prince William in the grounds of Government House in Auckland, New Zealand in 1983 (PA)

William with his family on the Palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee (Chris Jackson/PA)

The images, from the PA news agency’s photo archive, show the second in line to the throne on family holidays with the Prince and Princess of Wales, and playing bicycle polo with Prince Harry.

He is pictured studying at university, in his military uniform at Sandhurst and as an air ambulance helicopter pilot.

The Waleses prepare for a cycling trip in Tresco during their holiday in the Scilly Isles in 1989 (PA)

William after his St Andrew’s graduation ceremony in 2005 (David Cheskin/PA)

Among the images is one of William on his first official royal tour when he joined his parents on a six-week trip to Australia and New Zealand when he was just nine months old in 1983.

In 2006, he is captured smirking as his grandmother the Queen makes a remark while inspecting him and his fellow cadets during a passing out parade at Sandhurst.

The Queen inspects the graduates, including Prince William, in the Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst in 2006 (Lewis Whyld/PA)

The Duke of Cambridge starting his job with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) in 2015 (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Later images also show William announcing his engagement to his former university flatmate, Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge.

The newlywed pair took to the Buckingham Palace balcony on their wedding day in 2011, and introduced their first born, Prince George, to the world outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London in 2013.

Prince William and Kate Middleton during their engagement photocall in 2010 (John Stillwell/PA)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London, with their newborn son, Prince George in 2013 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

But William has also experienced great sadness, with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash in 1997.

The Duke and his younger brother the Duke of Sussex, came together briefly last year to unveil the statue they commissioned in her honour.

Diana’s funeral in 1997 (Sean Dempsey/PA)

The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex unveiling a statue they commissioned of their mother in 2021 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Other photos from over the years show William in a camouflaged military helmet tackling an assault course during a Sport Relief mile run in 2006, trying out a motorbike at the Isle of Man TT in 2018 and on tour with Kate to Pakistan in 2019.

Prince William during a Sport Relief mile run in 2006 (Chris Young/PA)

The duke at the Isle of Man TT (Peter Byrne/PA)

Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales was born second in line to the throne at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, at 9.03pm on 21 June, 1982.

He weighed 7lb 1oz and was the firstborn son of the Prince and the Princess of Wales.

Prince Harry and Prince William take a break whilst playing in the bicycle part of the Jockeys v Eventers Charity polo match in 2002 (Barry Batchelor/PA)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to a settlement of the Kalash people in Chitral, Pakistan (Samir Hussein/PA)

William was made the Duke of Cambridge by the Queen on the morning of his wedding.

He is expected to become King William V when he eventually accedes to the throne as monarch.

Click through the gallery below to see 40 images of William as he turns 40.