prince william uni

Prince William went by this name at university – do you think it suits him?

The future King studied at the University of St Andrews with Kate

Content Managing Editor
March 16, 2018

There have been whispers that Prince Harry used to go by the name Spike Wells on Facebook, and it appears his brother Prince William also tried to keep a low-profile – by changing his name at university. The future King was officially enrolled at the University of St Andrews as 'William Wales', but his nickname among friends was 'Steve'.

Unsurprisingly, William hoped his alter ego would help him fly under the radar at university, and there's a good chance his future wife Kate referred to him as 'Steve' when talking about him in public. The pair became friends after sharing a flat together at university; William had also originally signed up to do Art History, like Kate, but dropped out of the course. Under Kate's guidance, he changed his main subject to Geography, instead of leaving his studies completely.

© Photo: Rex

William went by the name Steve at university

By the time of their graduation, William and Kate were happily in love and dating. The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall all attended the graduation ceremony in June 2005, with William saying: "Today is a very special day for me and I am delighted that I can share it with my family, and in particular with my grandmother, who has made such an effort to come, having been under the weather. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at St Andrews and I shall be very sad to leave."

GALLERY: Everything you need to know about Prince George

Harry, meanwhile, used to have a Facebook account, going under the name Spike Wells. In 2012, it emerged that the Prince had been using the social network to post pictures of his holidays and keep in touch with his loved ones. However, after privacy concerns surrounding the publication of the photos of Harry in Vegas, his advisers reportedly told him to delete the page.

GALLERY: Naughtiest moments from members of the royal family

Sign up to HELLO! Daily for all the latest and best royal coverage

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Royalty

See more