Secrets of Prince William's university days - non-disclosure agreements, college privacy and movie 'ban'
William was at uni between 2001 to 2005Prince William’s days at university literally changed the monarchy – with the heir to the throne meeting his future wife while at college.
But there was more to his uni days than just meeting Kate Middleton. From non-disclosure agreements to a royal movie “ban,” here’s a look at some of the alleged secrets of his time at St Andrews University in Scotland.
Where did Prince William go to college?
Before embarking on studying a degree, Prince William was educated at Eton College.
The young royal broke tradition by attending the elite school, as previous family members attended Gordonstoun in Scotland. Instead, he followed in the footsteps of his late mother Princess Diana’s family, as his grandfather and uncle attended Eton College as well.
There are limited photos and information from Prince William’s Eton College days, as he was given privacy for being a young boy who was focusing on his education.
The royals did allow press to snap photos on his first day at the all boys’ school in 1995, which was also depicted in season five of The Crown. He was 13 years old at the time and it is located near Windsor Castle. He studied geography, biology and history of art in his senior years. The royal also became one of Eton College’s 21 elected prefects.
What did Prince William study at university?
In 2001, following a gap year where he took part in British Army exercises, Prince William enrolled at St Andrews University in Scotland.
The now Prince of Wales studied Art History, before switching to Geography.
During an interview with The Big Issue in 2022, William revealed just why he’d decided to drop Art History.
“I had to give it up – I kept falling asleep in lectures, it was terrible. We did a lot of Renaissance, which was amazing. But then once we got into modern art, I started to get a bit dozy,” he said.
He wrote his dissertation on the coral reefs of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. In 2005, William graduated with a 2:1 Master of Arts (Honours) in Geography after four years of studying.
Outside of his academic studies, the prince also played water polo. He even represented the university in the Celtic Nations Tournament in 2004.
Of course, St Andrews is where William met Kate. They started off as friends before romance blossomed. They moved in together in their second year, and the rest, they say, is history (not Art History, of course!)
Why Prince William made pals sign NDAs at university
However, a lot of William’s university life is still shrouded in mystery. We know what he studied, that he met Kate there, and that he enjoyed a bit of water polo – but what about the wild parties? And freshers’ week? And all the other thrills and spills and drama of uni life?
Well, there’s a reason we don’t know – because all of William’s mates reportedly signed Non-Disclosure Agreements. And there’s a good reason why.
His friends had to legally promise not to leak stories about his activities to the press.
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, William asked his friends to sign NDAs so that his private life would remain private, long after he got his degree and left uni.
Speaking on Vanity Fair’s Dynasty podcast, she said: “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.
“And as a result, his experience was remarkably ordinary and very happy.”
What Prince William said about his university days
During his time at uni, it was also agreed that the press would leave him alone. This was so that he could enjoy as normal a university experience as possible.
Speaking to the BBC in 2004, he gushed over how much he’d enjoyed his time in university – a large part of which was being left alone by the media.
“Basically, apart from the fact all the locals are really warm, friendly and I get on really well with them, I’ve been left alone by the media, in a big way actually, and for that I am very grateful. It’s been just three and a half years obviously so far where I’ve been very independent and been left alone to study and do my own thing,” he said.
When asked if he’d been able to lead a normal life, he said: “Definitely. There’s lots of people saying it’s impossible to lead a normal life really but actually up here, and with the media out of it, 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, I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
William’s ‘movie rental ban’ at university
However, one “secret” that’s got out about his time at uni is that the future king was actually slapped with a ban from a movie rental shop, apparently.
A former employee of an unnamed movie rental shop in St Andrews once claimed that William was a regular customer. However, he wasn’t always a good one.
Speaking to The Sun last month, the former employee reportedly said: “We used to serve Prince William quite regularly in the video shop in St Andrews before everything went digital.”
She also revealed that a movie he enjoyed was the comedy Boat Trip – about two straight men who, looking to meet women, end up on a gay cruise.
“His DVDs were always late and his bodyguards would never want to pay the fines,” the employee continued.
“We would end up, because it was just part of it, we had to ban Prince William until he paid up, which he always did in the end. He’s very nice.”
Who did Prince William date before Kate?
William may have met Kate at uni, but she wasn’t the only girl he reportedly dated at St Andrews.
The future king was in a brief relationship with fellow student, Carly Massy-Birch, during his first year.
“I’m a real country bumpkin. I think that was why we had a connection. William was in the year below, and we just happened to meet through the general St. Andrews melee,” she said in 2010 via royal author Katie Nicholl.
“It’s such a small place that it was impossible not to bump into William, and after a while there was nothing weird about seeing him around. We got on well, but I think we would have got on well even if nothing had been going on romantically,” she then continued.
“It was very much a university thing, just a regular university romance.”
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