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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Paige Holland

Prince William came up with a fake name to go under the radar at university

Since the day that Princess Diana stepped out of St Mary's Hospital on June 21, 1982, Prince William has been in the spotlight.

Every key milestone, good and bad, has been documented for the whole world to see - from his mother's death to his marriage to the Duchess of Cambridge.

But there was one period in his life when he was able to escape the glare of the country's eyes - his time at university.

William attended the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, with plans to study the history of art, but he later switched to geography.

The press agreed that William should be allowed to go about his studies without constant media attention, but unsurprisingly there was still a lot of attention surrounding him.

He wanted a normal university experience (Tim Graham Photo Library)

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Keen to have a relatively normal experience, he decided to go by a different name - Steve.

Although he did officially enrol at the university in the name William Wales, it is believed his classmates used the nickname so he didn't receive any unwanted attention.

And since this is where he met his now-wife Kate, there's a good chance that she called him this too.

William had moved into the flat above Kate's, so it didn't take him long to notice her - although this could have been because of the nickname she was given by her peers.

Kate threw herself into uni life, having fun and partying with friends and by the end of Freshers Week, she'd been dubbed 'Beautiful Kate', according to royal author Katie Nicholl.

A friend of the couple said they became "instant companions" after William plucked up the courage to invite her to breakfast with his pals.

But Kate especially caught his eye when she modelled that daring, sheer outfit on a charity catwalk (which he paid the £220 front-row ticket to see).

When they returned for their second year William, Kate and two pals moved into a quaint two-storey home in the city, where romance continued to blossom.

In 2005, they graduated in the same ceremony together, with William being cheered on by the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Now 16 years on, William and Kate have been happily married for almost 11 years and are the parents of three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

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