Prince William quietly adopted a “codename” to go undetected during his university years in an effort to escape the intense scrutiny that followed him everywhere, allowing the future king to experience at least a glimpse of ordinary student life while studying in Scotland, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The future king, now 44, enrolled at the University of St Andrews in 2001 after taking a gap year, initially studying Art History before switching to Geography. It was at the prestigious Scottish university that he met his future wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, 44.
Although he was already one of the world’s most recognizable young royals, an unusual agreement between the university and the British press – coupled with his use of the low-profile alias “Steve” – helped shield him from much of the attention that had defined his childhood.
Dr Brian Lang, who served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of St Andrews during William’s time there, has described the extensive efforts made to protect the prince’s privacy, revealing that cooperation between the university community and the media proved remarkably effective.
He said: “Andrew Neil, the Lord Rector of the university, being a very experienced newspaperman, helped us negotiate a deal with the British press, whereupon they would leave William alone in return for a photo opportunity once a semester. And on the whole, that worked.”
Lang explained that protecting William’s privacy became an immediate priority once it was confirmed he would attend the university, although the policy extended to every student on campus rather than the prince alone.
He added, “One thing that I did as soon as we knew that William was going to be a student was to warn the student body that we expected them to respect the privacy of information.
“So, I made it quite clear to the students by doing an interview to the student newspaper, in which I made it quite clear 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.”
Lang stressed that safeguarding personal information was fundamental to the university’s culture.
He noted: “This was not just a privacy issue for William, but for his fellow students as well. The privacy warning and the privacy injunctions were applied to the whole student body. We needed to take care of the privacy of all of the students, all of the staff, as well as William, and again, on the whole, that worked.”
Looking back on William’s four years at St Andrews, Lang praised both students and staff for resisting the temptation to profit from the future king’s presence.
He claimed: “After William had gone, a newspaper editor told me that he was astonished by just how disciplined and how secure the student body had been during William’s time. They behaved extremely well.
“I think that says a great deal for the student body and staff of St Andrews that nothing inappropriate, nothing significant, was passed on.”
William’s determination to maintain clear boundaries between his public role and private life has continued long after graduating.
He has repeatedly spoken about the impact intrusive media attention had on his childhood and the importance of ensuring his own children – Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight – enjoy a greater degree of normality.
Speaking to actor Eugene Levy during an appearance on The Reluctant Traveler in October 2025, and referencing his tragic late mother Princess Diana, William declared: “I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do, a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better.
“That is caveated with, I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past, that Harry and I had to grow up with – and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.”
William added: “Growing up, I saw that with my parents. And if you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something that I vowed would never happen to my family.
“And so, I take a very strong line about where I think that line is and those who overstep it, you know I’ll fight against.”