Frosh Prince

Thursday October 25, 2001 02:33 PM EDT

On the eve of his arrival at Scotland's St. Andrews University, Britain's Prince William issued a warning: "People who try to take advantage of me and get a piece of me," he said in an official interview, "I spot it quickly and soon go off them." His regal wits were quickly tested. As the 19-year-old future king chatted with friends one night at a local bar, a passing coed grabbed a piece of princely posterior. William immediately shot the young woman a look of sharp disdain. Says a fourth-year student who was there: "He was not impressed."

Pickup strategies aside, the encounter illustrates the dilemma confronting William, 19, as he tries to balance his craving for Joe College anonymity with his rock star popularity. Acclimating to university life is tricky for most freshmen (called "freshers" in Britain); for an apprentice monarch it can be a royal pain. The issue for William is how best to quietly fit in when he so clearly stands out. "I'm sure it will be difficult," says Peter Archer, Britain's Press Association royals correspondent. "He remains a private young man and at times is extremely shy."

Wary too. "He is very conscious of being exploited and wants to avoid it," says Archer. "He thinks his mother is still being exploited, and a lot of his actions are based on what happened to Diana." It's hard to blame him. Within days of William's arrival at school, a film crew dispatched by his uncle Prince Edward was the first to violate the British press's unwritten agreement to keep journalists away from campus. "The last thing anyone expected," says royals author Brian Hoey, "is that the gentleman's agreement would be broken by his own family."