Secrets of Prince William's university life
The future King was given relative privacy during his formative years
Hi Royal Clubbers,
It's Ainhoa with my weekly newsletter.
Those of you who are based in the UK may be aware that last week was an important and slightly nerve-wracking time for pupils and their parents up and down the country, as students were given their A-Level results which determined which university they'd be attending come September.
It got me thinking about Prince William's time at university, which is the subject of my newsletter today. Not only because he managed to have quite a normal student life at the University of St Andrews, away from the glare of the media, but because the Scottish institution was the backdrop of the start of his love story with Princess Catherine, known then as Kate Middleton.
It's the same level of privacy that has been afforded to William's cousin, Lady Louise Windsor, who is also studying at St Andrews (reading English) and is about to go into her third year. Hardly any stories have been shared in the press or on social media about the King's niece, nor photos of Louise on nights out or walking to lectures.
I previously interviewed Dr Brian Lang, who was Principal and Vice Chancellor of the university during William's time. Dr Lang gave me a fascinating insight into how he prepared for William's enrollment, and he regaled me with funny anecdotes about King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth II's visits to the university.
"When I was appointed to the post, a few weeks after, the appointing committee said to me, 'Oh, there's something else you need to know. We're expecting William,'" Dr Lang recalled. "I thought, 'Oh, in that case, this isn't going to be the appointment that I anticipated. There's going to be an extra dimension to it.' I was a bit surprised and so we started preparations for his attendance from then on.