Higher education has always been important to the Royal Family. This may seem surprising: after all, royals are born rich and famous and typically have their entire lives laid out before them. This is especially true of Prince William, who was destined to become the future King of England from the moment he was born.
Nonetheless, William attended college at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. This is where he met his future wife Kate Middleton, but few outside their inner circle know what William was really like as a student. As it turns out, away from the roving cameras of the paparazzi, Prince William let his hair down and knew how to party with the best of them.
Just what was William like as a student? Keep reading to discover the most shocking things about his college experience!
He didn’t go to college right away
Even though Prince William attended college early on as many American students do, his experience was different from the very beginning. This wasn’t because he’s a member of the Royal Family…in fact, it may be more accurate to say that it’s because he’s British!
Like many of his fellow countrymen, William didn’t attend college right away. Instead, he took a gap year which allowed him to focus more on what his educational goals were and how he would achieve them. By the time he was ready to enroll, his refreshingly simple college goals took the world by surprise.
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Prince William’s surprising college goals
Most students attend college to gain the skills and experience necessary for a future job. This wasn’t the case with William: even if he had skipped college altogether, his destiny was to eventually rule as the King of England.
Accordingly, his college goals were a bit different from the average student. As he told the BBC, “I just want to go to university and have fun. I want to go there and be an ordinary student.” At the time, he also downplayed what a potentially major life change this would be for him. “I mean, I’m only going to university. It’s not like I’m getting married — though that’s what it feels like sometimes.”
Getting special treatment from the administration
The future King of England attending college immediately presented a logistical problem: protecting the prince’s privacy. The last thing the administration of St. Andrew’s University wanted was for the press to constantly be lurking around the campus. And even when the press wasn’t physically present, there was the possibility that a student would leak stories and images to various tabloids.
Fortunately for William, the administration helped solve each of these problems. According to Hello!, Principal and Vice Chancellor Dr. Brian Lang struck a deal with the press: if they would leave William alone, then the prince would provide them with at least one photo opportunity per semester. At the same time, he instituted a zero-tolerance policy among students when it came to leaking info about the Prince. Before too long, William was able to settle in and enjoy life as a student.
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Prince William had hip musical tastes as a student
In his own way, Prince William was like his fellow students when it came to relaxing. For example, The Guardian reports that William loved listening to music in his dorm. “I’ve got to have a stereo – got to have music, I love my music.”
But what was he actually jamming out to in his dorm? According to the prince’s friends, he loved listening to R&B. With that royal revelation, we must admit that we’re dying to know what William’s Spotify Wrapped was like this year!
Making friends thanks to the dorm
It’s difficult (if not impossible) for most of us to imagine going to college with a future king. If it were us, we’d probably find it too weird to take classes from the prince, much less to be his neighbors. How, then, did Prince William’s fellow dorm residents react to his presence?
To hear William tell the story, he actually settled in and bonded with his fellow students very quickly. As The Guardian reports, “Living in a hall of residence for the first year was a good move. That’s where I met most of my friends.” Based on his experiences, it sounds like William is a big proponent of dorms in general: “Immediately, you’re all put together – a whole load of people in similar positions – and it was a lot of fun.”
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William had a fake identity and expensive tastes when partying
Prince William wanted to have the average college experience while attending St. Andrew’s. Many students love to party at night to unwind from the stress of their studies. And in case you were wondering, yes: the prince not only knew how to party but to party in style!
According to the Mirror, William’s favorite drink when he had a night out on the town was the Treasure Chest, a cocktail which is “a combination of peach liquor, brandy, and champagne and is served in a wooden chest for £135 a pop.” But how did someone as famous as William manage to party without anyone knowing who he was?
As Lisa Ager told the Mirror, on one occasion, the prince “was telling everyone that his name was Danny and he was from London and he often gets mistaken for William.” With his fake identity in place, William didn’t hesitate to dance, and he loved to shake his moneymaker “with bouncers and everyone.” Here’s hoping he had better moves back then than he does now!