William Knuckles Down, Starts College

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday September 25, 2001 12:05 PM EDT

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In a break from the somber news of the past two weeks, thousands of Britons cheered on Sunday as Prince William arrived in Fife, Scotland, nearly 500 miles north of London, where the 19-year-old king-in-waiting started classes at St. Andrews University on Monday. William, casually clad in blue jeans and a sweater, showed up with his father, Prince Charles, and shook a few hands of those standing to get a look at him. Police kept barricades between him and the eager onlookers, and, notes Reuters, William's bodyguards have dorm rooms next to his in St. Salvator's hall, founded in 1450. Since it became known that William was going to the school, applications there have risen by 44%, mostly from young women. (They may also have been encouraged by the fact that more St. Andrews graduates reportedly marry one another than do those of any other British university.) The prince, who has spent the year since he left Eton College traveling the world, including a goodwill trip to Chile, has let it be known that he wishes to be known simply as William Wales in school, where he hopes to be treated like any other student. His major is art history. In interviews with reporters that ran over the weekend in Britain, William said that he purposely skipped orientation week at the school. "It would have been a media frenzy, and that's not fair on the other students," he said. "Plus, I thought I would probably end up in a gutter, completely wrecked."