Prince William: School, University, Graduation from St Andrews June 2005

[ElisaR]

A great day! :)

[sara1981]

YAHOO NEWS

Prince William Graduates From University
By MATT DUNHAM, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 58 minutes ago



ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - Prince William graduated from St. Andrews University on Thursday in a colorful, tradition-steeped ceremony watched by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and father,Prince Charles.
Wearing a hood with cherry-red lining to indicate he is a Master of the Arts, the 23-year-old prince knelt before university chancellor Sir Kenneth Dover, who tapped him on the head with a cap. According to St. Andrews tradition, the cap is sewn from a fragment of breeches worn by Scottish religious reformer John Knox, who preached in the medieval university town in the 16th century.

William, 23, was one of 260 students to graduate in the 4 1/2-hour morning ceremony. Girlfriend Kate Middleton graduated in the same ceremony.

William earned a 2:1 geography masters degree in four years of study. A 2:1 denotes an upper second class degree, a very respectable achievement — and better than Prince Charles' 2:2 from Cambridge. A Scottish Master of the Arts degree is the equivalent of an undergraduate English Bachelor of Arts degree.

After a summer break, William will undertake three work-experience placements, joining a mountain-rescue team, working at an international financial institution in London and learning about land management on a country estate, the prince's Clarence House office said Thursday.

William has said he then plans to sign up for military training at Sandhurst, the prestigious military academy south of London where his younger brother, Harry, began his studies last month.

At the graduation ceremony, the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, sat alongside Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The queen, who missed seeing Prince Harry parade the colors at Sandhurst last week due to a cold, wore a lemon suit with matching feathered hat.

Charles and the duchess clapped respectfully and Prince Philip perused the graduation program as William walked back to his seat to loud applause.

Afterward, the royals chatted with William and other graduates outside St. Andrews' Younger Hall.

Speaking before the ceremony, William said he was sad to be leaving university.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at St. Andrews and I shall be very sad to leave," he said.

"I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has made my time here so enjoyable. I have been able to lead as normal a student life as I could have hoped for and I am very grateful to everyone, particularly the locals, who have helped to make this happen."

William also thanked his grandmother for attending the ceremony, noting that she had not been feeling well.

AP Photo: Britain's Prince William waves as he leaves after attending his university graduation ceremony at St....

• Slideshow: Britain's Royal Family

Video

• Prince William Graduates From University AP Video

[corazon]

BEAUTIFUL WILLS!!!! diana would be very proud of him :)

[bigheadshirmp]

pics from getty

[bigheadshirmp]

some more....................

[Al_bina]

Duchess of Cornwall strives to be at every event relating to Princess Diana's sons trying to display her "care and concern" for them.

[florawindsor]

bravo, bravo
thanks for all the pictures.
congratulations to Prince William

[Elspeth]

I assume the Duchess is at these events because she's showing her care and concern for her husband. If she didn't show up, people would be going on about how cracks in the marriage are already appearing and how she's being rejected by the royal family. Whatever she does, she can't win.

[buffynut]

Well maybe she turns up because she does care for William & Harry

[Ennyllorac]

It is logical and appropriate for the Duchess to attend the ceremony. She is married to Prince Charles and is part of the family. Plenty of step parents attend functions related to their stepchildren!

[GrandDuchess]

Congratulations to William for his graduation! I hope this "soft" start of public duties will be good, and that he will now become an active member of the Royal Family and take on official engagments continuously. And I hope he will represent the Royal Family at weddings and so on too sometimes, even if Charles might still be the one that the Queen sends most frequently, it would be nice to see will join him sometimes.

[BeccaLynn07]

Great pictures everyone!

Congratulations to William on his graduation!

[lynn]

Congratulations to William! I am so excited to see him finally take on his first solo official engagement in New Zealand. I am sure he will be very good at it, and make not just his mother proud, but also his granny!

I am just not sure about the dress code for graduation in other countries. I find Kate's skirt a bit too short. In Asia, where I'm from, we have to make sure the dresses or skirts we wear under our togas are at least knee length or below the knee. Perhaps it is different in Western countries.

Just an observation. :)

[sara1981]

TELEGRAPH NEWS

Cheers for William Wales, MA
Reports by Caroline Davies
(Filed: 24/06/2005)

In pictures: By Royal degree

William Wales (MA) graduated from St Andrews yesterday to go forth, in his own words, "into the big wide world".

The 23-year-old prince was capped during a ceremony witnessed by "Grandma", the Queen, Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and, of course, the media.

Prince William meets the crowd: ‘Today is a very special day and I am delighted I can share it with my family’"I am going out into the big wide world now, not just essays," he remarked to a guest as the royals mingled with graduates and their parents after the 90-minute ceremony.

He emerged from Younger Hall in his black gown with cherry silk lining denoting his geography Master of Arts and looking relaxed as he smiled to the 1,000-strong crowd that had gathered to see him.

Inside, he had appeared less confident. He slipped from his seat 10 minutes before his name was called and re-emerged from a side room to join the others in his group. His head was slightly bowed and he bit his lip as he was called up by his dean of arts, Prof Christopher Smith, as "William Wales".

A burst of flash photography and loud applause marked his moment. The Queen smiled. This was the first graduation she had attended for a member of her family and it clearly meant a lot to the prince.

His grandfather, father and stepmother leaned forward as the prince knelt before the chancellor's wooden pulpit.

Sir Kenneth Dover, the chancellor, tapped the prince's head with a small 17th century scarlet cloth cap said to contain a fragment from the trousers of the religious reformer John Knox.

The university's bedelus, James Douglas, hooked the prince's black and cherry silk-lined hood over his head, the colours signifying that he was now a Master of Arts.

The prince stood and bowed his head before making his way to an anteroom to collect his parchment.

So ended four years away from prying eyes, of being accepted by the people of St Andrews, including Tesco checkout staff and his newsagent, as just another student. He said he was sad to leave.

"I have been able to lead as normal a student life as I could have hoped for and I am very grateful to everyone, particularly the locals, who have helped to make this happen," he said.

The person who has done most to make life normal is his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, with whom he has shared a farmhouse. They had entered Younger Hall together, looking very much a couple.

Kate, who graduated in art history, sat five rows in front of the prince and graduated 80 people ahead of him.

Wearing a short black skirt and high heels under her gown, she was called to the stage as "Catherine Middleton" and smiled broadly as she returned to her seat.

Perhaps it was this high-profile romance that prompted Dr Brian Lang, the vice-chancellor, to tell the graduates: "You will have made lifelong friends. I say this every year to all new graduates: you may have met your husband or wife."

To loud laughter, he added: "Our title as the top matchmaking university in Britain signifies so much that is good about St Andrews, so we rely on you to go forth and multiply - but in the positive sense that I earlier urged you to adopt."

As the Queen left, Prince William kissed her on both cheeks and she patted his shoulder affectionately.

He said: "Today is a very special day and I am delighted that I can share it with my family, in particular with my grandmother, who has made such an effort to come, having been under the weather".

[sara1981]

SUN NEWSPAPER

Thanks for having one!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005290110,00.html

Sara Boyce

[sara1981]

BBC NEWS

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4124736.stm



Pavement cheers for HRH graduate

By John Morrison
BBC Scotland correspondent




Crowds outside the ceremony stretched for half-a-mile



Graduation day has never been like this, not even at Scotland's oldest university.

Shortly after midday the 259 graduates, who received their scrolls at the same ceremony as the young man who is destined one day to become the king of Britain, emerged from the Younger Hall blinking into the St Andrew's sunshine.

They found a crowd of several thousand onlookers, a massive police presence and the international media camped on the pavement.

Although they have become accustomed over the last four years to seeing the second in line to the throne in the queue at Tesco, cycling through the town to lectures and drinking pints of lager in the pub this was probably the first taste for most of them of what lies ahead for Prince William.

He arrived at the Younger Hall with his housemate and girlfriend, Kate Middleton. The young prince waited until she had taken her seat before moving away to his own place.

Duty calls

Afterwards with the rest of the students sipping champagne in the sunshine, savouring the academic achievement, duty called for the prince.

He worked his way round the garden party, shaking hands and offering congratulations, flanked by his father and step- mum.

The royal, who had sought as normal a life as possible alongside other students from all walks of life, was slowly moving away from his friends and colleagues of the last four years.

Minutes later he left the university buildings for the last time after telling friends that he was now "going out into the big wide world".

A ripple of applause went through the crowd which packed the pavement on both sides of the street for at least half-a-mile. Someone shouted: "Well done William".

Match-making

Clutching his MA Honours scroll in one hand, the prince turned and waved shyly at the well-wishers before shaking hands and thanking the senior university figures who have shepherded their most famous student through his four-year degree.

Afterwards, they stood and watched in the doorway as Prince William, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall walked half a mile down the street to the local police station where they thanked the local constabulary for their care and attention.

Prince William left behind 258 students reflecting on the words of the principal, who told them in his graduation address that St Andrews is a matchmaking university and that some of the students had already met their future partners. The young graduates knew they had shared four years with the future king. But was his queen also among them? The 259th student Kate Middleton may also have been reflecting on the words, in an entirely different way.

[sara1981]

PEOPLE NEWS ARTICLES

PeopleNews

Prince William Graduates From College

Thursday Jun 23, 2005 10:00am EST
By Simon Perry

Prince William
CREDIT: MATT DUNHAM/AP




Wednesday was graduation day for Prince William at Scotland's St. Andrews University, an event that brought out his proud father, Prince Charles, his stepmom, the Duchess of Cornwall, and grandparents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

As befits such occasions – and these particular participants – there was plenty of pomp and circumstance.

"Today is a very special day for me and I am delighted that I can share it with my family, and in particular with my grandmother, who has made such an effort to come having been under the weather," said William, referring to the queen, who's getting over a cold.

As William, who turned 23 on Monday, graduated (with a Master of Arts in geography), so did 260 other students – including the prince's girlfriend Kate Middleton, who wore a sexy black miniskirt under her university gown.

In a statement, the graduate said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at St Andrews and I shall be very sad to leave. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has made my time here so enjoyable... I am going to miss being in Scotland – I have got used to the weather and all the golf chat!"

Later in the day, the palace released details of what the young royal plans to do in the coming months, starting with his heading to New Zealand next week for some rugby watching and his first solo official engagements.

Further summer plans include learning about international finance and commerce with a London financial institution and about land management on a country estate, and helping with a mountain rescue team.

"Joining a mountain rescue team really appealed to me as I can learn at first hand how these amazing people help save lives on a regular basis," said William. "I very much hope that these work placements will give me hands-on experience in three very different, but important areas."

Early next year, it is expected he will enter the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where his younger brother, Harry, is already training.

[CATS]

HE SHOULD HAVE WORN A KILT, LOVE A MAN IN A KILT. Oh well, he looked great anyway.
CONGRATULATIONS WILLIAM!

[pdas1201]

Pics from the Graduation

Rex Features
Part 1

[pdas1201]

Rex Features

Part 2