A split image of Lady Louise and Prince William

Lady Louise's challenge she faces at St Andrew's that cousin Prince William didn't

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's eldest daughter started at the university in 2022…

August 14, 2024

Lady Louise's time at St. Andrew's University is in full swing. While the 20-year-old may be following in the footsteps of her royal family members, the Prince and Princess of Wales, she faces one major challenge her predecessors didn't.

During William and Kate's student days, social media didn't exist, so while privacy was a concern when it came to the press, they didn't have to worry about smartphones capturing any faux pas.

St. Andrew's has always taken the privacy of its students incredibly seriously. William's Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Brian Lang, exclusively told HELLO! how he managed the future King under his care.

He told HELLO!: "One thing that I did as soon as we knew William was going to be a student was to warn the student body that we expected them to respect the privacy of information.

© Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library

William was well protected at St Andrews

"So, I made it quite clear to the students by doing an interview with the student newspaper, in which I emphasized that we would take a very, very dim view of any inappropriate information being passed on—not just about William, but about any other student."

He added: "Andrew Neil, the Lord Rector of the university, being a very experienced newspaper man, helped us negotiate a deal with the British press, whereby they would leave William alone in return for a photo opportunity once a semester. And on the whole, that worked."

© Shutterstock

Kate Middleton on her graduation day, St. Andrews University, June 2005

As for the famous allegation that a student was once offered £3,000 to dish the details on the future King, Dr. Lang said: "[It was] not by UK newspapers, but by overseas newspapers.

"Now, that's a lot for an undergraduate," the Principal said. "The story also is that none of these offers were accepted. I don't know whether that's true, but it shows the excellent behaviour of the students during that period."

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Nearly 23 years after William started at St. Andrew's, it's likely the institution has rules in place to help protect Lady Louise from having her privacy breached as she continues her education. 

Louise couldn't be more settled into university life, despite the start of her university career being marred by the passing of her grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

© Mark Cuthbert

Lady Louise is well in the swing of her university career

Since then, she has been pictured with one close friend in particular, Felix da Silva-Clamp, as she took part in the Sandringham Horse Driving Trials in June.

The pair were all smiles as they stepped out alongside her mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh.

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