Though he left with a degree and a girlfriend he would go on to marry, things could have gone very differently had Prince William fulfilled his desire to leave university.
After he spent his gap year travelling, the then 19-year-old’s time in higher education got off to a rocky start.
William began studying a degree in Art History at St Andrews in September 2001.
However by the end of his first term the Prince was having second thoughts.
Royal expert Robert Lacey told in his 2020 book Battle of Brothers how William only spent two of the 13 term-time weekends at the university and would often go home to London or Highgrove.
The 19-year-old prince with his father Prince Charles during a visit to an education centre in Glasgow, shortly before he started university in 2001
Prince William at St Andrews during the start of his degree after enjoying a gap year of travelling
Charles and William greet crowds who have gathered to see him on his first day at St Andrews
When William first expressed doubts over his choice of course and institution, his grandfather Prince Philip responded with: ‘William needs to knuckle down and not wimp out.’
The young prince confided in his father, now King Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales, and told him how he wanted to leave the university and move elsewhere.
He found life in the small Scottish town of St Andrews to be quiet.
Mr Lacey described how the best part of his week was shopping at Tesco and playing sport on a Wednesday.
And for a prince who everyone instantly recognised, navigating student life was a challenge.
Though Charles originally agreed with his son, he changed his mind after speaking with his private secretary Sir Stephen Lamport, who also confided in deputy private secretary Mark Bolland.
Palace aides were concerned the situation could cause a ‘personal disaster for William’ and that the Prince ‘would have been seen as a quitter’.
If William had not stayed at St Andrews, he may not have met Kate Middleton. Above: The couple on their graduation day
Charles had a heartfelt discussion with his son about him wanting to move. Above: Charles and William greeting crowds after arriving for his first day at St Andrews
Prince William shakes hands with people outside of St Andrews University
There were also concerns William’s departure could have caused problems for St Andrews’ image, as well as the politics behind a British monarch possibly being viewed as snubbing a Scottish university.
Palace officials had previously dealt with the criticism that followed Prince Edward after he decided to leave the Royal Marines part way through his training in 1987.
Kensington Palace and St Andrews managed to instead resolve the issue by liaising with one another and agreeing for William to switch courses to Geography instead.
Charles then spent the Christmas holiday having a heartfelt discussion with William, who eventually decided against the move too.
William later said he felt he was ‘daunted’ rather than homesick.
He said at the time: ‘My father was very understanding about it and realised I had the same problem he had probably had.
‘We chatted a lot, and in the end we both realised – I definitely realised – that I had to come back.
‘I think it was the new surroundings. When I was with Raleigh International in Chile during my gap year, it was the same sort of thing. You’re thrown into completely new territory.
Kensington Palace and St Andrews agreed for William to switch courses to Geography instead
William later said he felt he was ‘daunted’ over the situation rather than homesick
‘I don’t think I was homesick. I was more daunted.’
Leading journalist Andrew Neil, who was Lord Rector at St Andrews at the time, put the scenario down to William having ‘the blue’, something that he said was a common problem with ‘public school boys’.
The decision to stay paid off, as it was at St Andrews that William met and fell in love with Kate Middleton.
It was at a charity fashion show in St Andrews where William exclaimed, ‘wow! Kate’s hot’, as his future wife walked down the catwalk in a see-through dress.
