Remember When Prince William Was a Superhot Teen Idol?

He Was on the Cover of Magazines as a Teen Idol

After Prince William turned 14, People declared William "suddenly smashing."

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In 1998, YM put 15-year-old Prince William on their cover helping American women dream about the future king.

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The prince's 18th birthday was also a big occasion, and he was declared "rich but unspoiled."

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In 1999, Star lied to us by telling us William was moving to America. But we'll take the photo they chose for the cover.

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There Were Pinup Posters

Just like any bona fide heartthrob, teen girls could buy pinup posters of him.

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Dare we say he has too much hair in this one?

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Everyone Wanted to Know His Favorite Food, Music, and More

Image Source: Getty / Anthony Harvey

Remember those Tiger Beat features that asked heartthrobs a bunch of questions about their likes and dislikes? William filled out something similar on the occasion of his 16th and 18th birthdays. Some samples from his 16th birthday:

Favorite Foods? Mostly fast foods, but will try just about anything.
Favorite Music? Techno and some classical.

And on his 18th:

What do you do in your spare time?

How do you cope with the attention of girls? In my own way. Trying to explain how might be counterproductive!

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He Made Stamps Sexy

Image Source: Getty / Getty Images

I'd start a collection of these bad boys.

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His Orchestrated Photo Shoots Were Seriously Hot

On special occasions, Prince William would allow the press to photograph him. He explained his decision:

"The media have left me alone while I have been at Eton, for which I am grateful. But I knew there would be a lot of media interest in my 18th, and I didn't want a whole host of media involved. Neither did I want any distractions as I was revising for my A-levels. So, I agreed to allow one photographer and a TV cameraman to spend a little time with me at Eton."

Lucky for us, these photos were amazing, like this one above taken of Wills at Eton.

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Image Source: Getty / UK Press

The press was allowed to snap a few shots of William on his first day of school at St. Andrews University in 2001.

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Image Source: Getty / DAVID CHESKIN

In 2004, we got this heartthrob smile from the prince, who was captured playing some pool with his college friends.

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Image Source: Getty / DAVID CHESKIN

And look how studious he was.

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And Sometimes the Photos Were Goofy

Image Source: Getty / David Cheskin

At times, William's press photos were a bit cheesy — but that's what we expect from our teen idols. Here was the prince hanging out at a beach in Scotland in 2003.

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