Here's Why Prince William Decided to Attend St Andrews
When Prince William enrolled in Eton in 1995, he became the first senior royal to attend the school. Five years later, when he announced his decision to attend University of St. Andrews after taking a gap year, his choice of school similarly broke with royal tradition.
William's father King Charles studied at Trinity College at Cambridge, and was the first heir to the throne to receive a university degree. For other members of the royal family who studied at university, they had predominantly attended Oxford or Cambridge. William's decision to chose St. Andrews was more of a wild card.
"The reason I didn't want to go to an English university is because I have lived there and wanted to get away and try somewhere else. I also knew I would be seeing a lot of Wales in the future," William said shortly before he began university. "And I do love Scotland. There is plenty of space, I love the hills and mountains and I thought St Andrews had a real community feel to it."
In a statement in August 2000, St. James’s Palace said, "Prince William has been accepted to attend the university of his first choice, the University of St. Andrews." He started his college education in fall 2001.
Prince William waited to make a decision until he received the results of his A Levels. As The Crown depicts, he got an A in geography, a B in history of art, and a C in biology. "I know how hard William worked to achieve these excellent results and I am very proud that he has done so well," King Charles said in a statement at the time.
It was rumored that his first choice was University of Edinburgh, William later said it was "too busy" for his liking.
Prince William's time at St. Andrews plays out during the final episodes of The Crown, where William is played by Ed McVey. In the show, he considers dropping out, before Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) convinces him to stay. (A version of this did happen in real life.)
Of course, St. Andrews was where William met Kate Middleton, his future wife. Years later, in New York celebrating the 600th anniversary of St Andrews University in 2014, William joked, "It's often said by the undergraduates of St Andrews that you leave the university in either one of two states: either married or an alcoholic. Fortunately for Catherine and me, we ended up married."
By all accounts, in real life, Prince William enjoyed his time at university in Scotland. "I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has made my time here so enjoyable," he said upon his graduation. "I have been able to lead as 'normal' a student life as I could have hoped for and I'm very grateful to everyone, particularly the locals, who have helped make this happen."
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