Prince William and Prince Charles after a graduation ceremony at the University Of St Andrews in 2005© Getty

King Charles had the best reaction to seeing Prince William's university halls of residence

The then prince was checking everything was up to royal standards at St Andrews

Content Managing Editor
September 30, 2023

It's not every day you get a Prince living on campus, so it's no surprise King Charles was given a sneak peek of where his son Prince William would be spending his first year at university back in 2001.

Charles was shown the exact bedroom at St Salvator's Hall ahead of William's first semester and luckily for university staff, it was fit for a king. 

"We put him in one of the nicer halls of residence," Dr Brian Lang, who was Principal and Vice Chancellor of the university at the time, told HELLO!

© Getty

Prince William, accompanied by his father Prince Charles, greets crowds on arrival at St. Andrew's University

"A few weeks before he arrived at St Andrews, his father, the then Prince of Wales, came up for tea and we talked about the sort of life his son could expect at St Andrews. 

"I asked if he would like to see the room, so we walked across the campus to the halls and the Prince of Wales, now the King, had a look at the room and insisted on bouncing up and down the bed to see how it was. 

"'Ah, not too cushy, not too soft, that's fine,' he said. 'We must make sure he doesn't have too soft a night.' So that sort of thing happened. It was good fun."

© Getty

An example of a room at St Salvator's Hall at the University of St Andrews

Dr Lang was introduced to William, who read Geography at the Scottish university after switching from History of Art, ahead of the start of term. 

"I didn't want our first meeting to be his arrival in St Andrews and that was right," said Dr Lang. "He seemed quite blasé about starting, very relaxed about the fact that he was coming. He looked as if he was looking forward to it and of course I assured him that we were looking forward to having him and that we would take good care of him.

© Getty

Prince Charles talks with Dr Brian Lang after accompanying Prince William to his graduation ceremony

"I saw him fairly regularly during his time at St Andrews. One of the great things about running a university is you see essentially young people coming in aged maybe 18, 19 at most. It's probably their first time away from home, they're a bit like frightened rabbits caught in the headlights. 

"But after four years, they mature into wonderful, adult human beings who are relaxed, confident and have a bright future ahead. And I think that also applied to William.

"After he left, I had a very nice letter from his father thanking me for the role the university had played in giving him a good university experience. And I'm sure he'll be a wonderful King in due course."

Prince William and Kate take a trip down memory lane at St Andrews

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