The ‘Very Strange’ Way Prince William Had an ‘Ordinary’ College Experience
Prince William had a relatively normal college experience—dorms, dining halls, lectures—considering he’s a future king. What made it possible, at least in part, was something not so typical for the average college student: NDAs or non-disclosure agreements. The now-Prince of Wales’ friends, according to a royal author and expert, signed legal documents to “enable” William’s “ordinary existence” as a college student.
William went to the University of St. Andrew’s from 2001-2005
Now 42, William began attending college at Scotland’s University of St. Andrew’s in the fall of 2001. There he met his future wife, Kate Middleton. (A sheer dress at a fashion show played a key role in their romance.)
Starting out in college, William pursued a degree in art history—coincidentally the same as Kate. However, he later switched his major to geography as a sophomore before graduating with a Master of Arts in 2005.
William’s college experience included cooking, having roommates—one of them was the now-Princess of Wales—and being captain of the university’s water polo team. Campus and the surrounding area became, as a royal expert once described, a “protective bubble.”
William’s friends signed NDAs promising they wouldn’t talk to the press about what happened in college
On an episode of Vanity Fair’s “Dynasty” podcast about the British royal family, author and royal expert Katie Nicholl discussed the “very strange” ask of William’s college friends.
It’s a “very strange concept to have to sign a confidentiality agreement,” Nicholl said. “But of course, he was a future king. And this whole idea was to enable him to have an ordinary existence, so his friends had to legally promise not to leak stories about his activities to the press.”
However “strange” it might’ve been for William’s friends at the time, staying quiet worked because “as a result, his experience was remarkably ordinary and very happy.”
William—and Kate—aren’t the only British royals to attend college at the University of St. Andrew’s. William’s cousin, Lady Louise Windsor, the 20-year-old daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, is currently a student there.
William talked about wanting to be an ‘ordinary’ student as he started college
William discussed his hopes for college with BBC News prior to his arrival on campus. “I just want to go to university and have fun. I want to be an ordinary student,” he said.
His “ordinary student” experience couldn’t start until returning the media’s favor of “leaving him alone,” per the outlet. William did a “series of official functions” with his father, King Charles III, the then-Prince of Wales, before settling in at his dorm.
“I’m only going to university. It’s not like I’m getting married. Though that’s what it feels like sometimes. It will get easier as time goes on. Everyone will get bored of me—which they do,” he added.
Three years later, in 2004, William credited the lack of media presence as the main reason he was able to have a “normal life” in college.
“There’s lots of people saying it’s impossible to lead a normal life, really,” he said at the time (via The Mirror). “But actually, up here, and with the media out of it,” he continued, “it’s amazing how people just get on with their lives and will not bother you.”
“Everyone up here, I have to say, has been as good as gold,” he added before concluding, “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
