Most birthdays aren’t a cause for worldwide celebration. But for Prince William, his 18th wasn’t just an excuse for birthday cake and punch.

Indeed, as the future king of England celebrated his coming of age Wednesday, there was just as much speculation as celebration. The American media, which seems just as fascinated, if not more so, by the royals as the British tabloids, has been a buzz for months about William’s milestone birthday.

When will he take over as monarch — will his father, Prince Charles, be sidestepped in line to the throne because of his extramarital dalliances? Will William be a Ruler of the People, in a similar fashion to his late mother Princess Diana, or will he become a more traditional leader?

And perhaps the most annoying question of all: When will Wills take a bride? Who will become the Queen of England?

All this speculation about Prince William’s dating game is insipid and more than a little premature. After all, his father didn’t marry Diana until he was in his 30s.

Come on, the boy just turned old enough to vote. He hasn’t completed his prep school studies yet, he’s still dealing with the death of his mother and becoming the royal who’s getting the bulk of a kind of public attention he really doesn’t need right now.

The media obsession with Prince William’s birthday and Prince William in general is already too excessive, and it will only get worse. It’s to be expected that William will be in the public eye, after all, that’s basically his function.

The royals don’t just go on to college and then to work at insurance companies, and they don’t have any real power over their futures.

Their only real function is to act as a figurehead for England. It’s natural that William will be in the public eye.

But let’s not have a repeat of what happened to Princess Diana, who was hounded by the paparazzi from the time Charles hand-picked her to bear the future leaders of England until her death in 1997.

Both Diana and Prince Charles had their phone conversations taped and broadcast. Both had to face massive public scrutiny, which couldn’t have helped their already mismatched union.

Hopefully, the media and the people who buy into this fascination with the royals — or any celebrity in general — have learned a lesson from Diana’s death. Prince William is a public figure, but he deserves to have his privacy.

But while everyone else is weighing in with their suggestions for Wills’ future wife, here’s our 2 cents: Not Britney Spears, William. She’s already got too much publicity.

Iowa State Daily Editorial Board: Kate Kompas,Greg Jerrett, Heidi Jolivette, Justin Kendall and Tara Payne.