Degree of uncertainty as William graduates Saturday, 18 June 2005
PRINCE William will next week kneel before the chancellor of St Andrews University, Sir Kenneth Dover, to receive an honours degree in geography. To the words et semper te (and upon you), he will be "capped" by being tapped on the head with what is supposed to be a fragment of John Knox's breeches.
For the other 1,400 students graduating at St Andrews, it is a joyous rite of passage; for the prince, it is a special moment which also brings a huge burden. The question "What next?" hangs heavy over him and there also are very real fears that the gentlemen's agreement observed by the media during William's time at St Andrews could be exchanged for a press open season.
William's graduation, in the 600-year-old Younger Hall on Thursday, will be watched by his father Prince Charles, his stepmother Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and his grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Afterwards, Charles and Camilla are expected to join William for lunch to celebrate his 2:1, the most successful academic performance by a modern-day Royal, but in a subject which offers no clue as to what the prince will do next. On Tuesday, two days before he graduates, William will have turned 23; it is a busy week for a young man whose only inked-in diary engagement is an official trip to New Zealand to watch the British and Irish Lions take on the All Blacks at rugby.
William's years at St Andrews have been surprisingly free of the tempestuous times which have afflicted his younger brother Harry, who has trouble staying out of the news as big brother prepares to sign off four quiet years on the Fife coast.
Official press calls at St Andrews helped to control the media attention surrounding Prince William, but the gentlemen's agreement ends upon his graduation. Picture: David Cheskin/ PA
Friends of the prince and media observers agree that the gentleman's agreement drawn up between the Press Complaints Commission and St James's Palace four years ago has worked well. In return for a number of photo opportunities - William playing golf, William playing pool, William relaxing on the rocks or beach, William chatting with his tutor - the media has left the student prince well alone. The interviews have been anodyne - "I do a lot of shopping; I enjoy the shopping, actually. I buy lots of things and then go back to the house and see the fridge is full of all the stuff I've just bought" - but they have kept the wolves from the Royal door. This allowed William to go to local pubs, play his favourite sports (such as water polo), spend time with his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, in a secluded cottage outside St Andrews and even learn Swahili.
Since meeting as first-year history of art students, William and Kate have remained virtually inseparable, living together away from the media glare as a couple for the last two years. It may have been the see-through dress over black underwear Kate famously wore at an early student fashion show that first caught his eye. Her interest in fashion could influence her career path.
Such isolation from the prying eyes of the press is also set to come to an end when the pair graduate, though they are expected to go travelling together to Asia or Africa later in the summer.
The couple can expect more of the sort of attention they gained on the slopes of Klosters in April where Kate was invited for a second year running. Then William told reporters: "I am too young to marry at my age. I don't want to get married until I am at least 28 or maybe 30."
When he arrived at St Andrews in 2001 with Prince Charles, there were suspicions as to how well William would cope with life in the quiet Fife seaside town. There was the first-year wobble when he was said to be struggling to settle down and make friends. "I was a little uneasy," he admitted, also conceding that he was taking his time to embrace Scottishness and only wore a kilt in private.
Yet a switch from history of art to geography as his main degree and the long-term romance with Marlborough-educated Kate changed all that.
Rebecca Flynn, manager of Ma Bells bar, one of his favoured St Andrews watering holes, described the prince as popular. She said: "He used to come in quite often, but less so recently. He would always just seem to blend in and be surrounded by young people and friends. He was obviously well in with the rugby crowd and I would say his time here has been positive, both for him and the town."
Dr Brian Lang, principal and vice-chancellor of St Andrews, was also pleased with William's time in Fife. He said: "We've had four very normal years. We're pleased that he [William] has done so well and has had as normal a life as could have been expected. They have been four private years; his time here will continue privately."
When the nightlife in St Andrews failed to provide the prince with enough excitement, he would pop over the Forth Road Bridge to the more lively attractions on offer in Edinburgh - including the Opal Lounge club on George Street. Event organiser Charlie Gilkes, who combines being a student at Edinburgh University with running his own company, Chic Vie, was involved in a number of events attended by William. He fears the notoriously shy prince will become a prime target for the paparazzi in London. "When Prince William was in Edinburgh at events, the priority was always to protect his privacy," he said.
"He would never want special treatment, just preferring to blend into the background. He likes to have as much fun as his brother Harry does but he is aware of his role as heir and goes to more parties in private settings.
"But I fear he could now be a victim of the greed of photographers who will literally turn up within seconds if they find out he is at a particular club in London and swarm all over him.
"Any picture of him a bit drunk or with a girlfriend will sell internationally for a far higher price than say a picture of Tom Cruise with his new girlfriend. It is a sad part of human nature but he will be a target for photographers."
Celebrity PR adviser Max Clifford said: "How Prince William deals with the press is make or break for the monarchy. He is their potential saviour. If he follows his father and tries to fight the press he will lose. Instead he must make them work for him and understand their needs like his mother did so effectively. Princess Diana was able to use the media to turn herself into the most popular person on the planet and he can certainly use them to his advantage."
Jack Irvine, a former editor of the Sun in Scotland who now heads the Media House PR firm, fears an open season on William.
He said: "The press have been pretty decent during his time at St Andrews and he has played the game well. But I think it will be open season from the moment he graduates - and the focus will be on the women he's with or the clubs he's in.
"Prince William will be prepared for the extra attention but I worry that we could see more of the stunts we saw this week when the undercover reporter broke into Sandhurst.
"Any picture of him dancing or with a girl will be gold dust. I've only heard good things about him so I think he will cope. There is talk of him going into the army but in my opinion that is only putting off the inevitable day he has to embrace public life."
Prince Charles was already a veteran of public duty at 23 and despite murmurings that William will follow a similar route, officials at Clarence House concede that what Prince William does next is the "64-million dollar question."
There has been no Palace consultation with Fleet Street editors as to what steps if any could be taken to ensure the prince is not subjected to the same harassment his mother faced before her death.
"The press agreement we had in place during Prince William's time at St Andrews was put in place because he was in full-time education," said a spokesperson for Clarence House. For Prince William, his post-university life marks the start of a transitory period. He is expected to take a private holiday and undertake the trip to New Zealand but there are no plans for him to be rushed into public engagements."
A stint in the army is viewed by palace officials as a "distinct possibility" but William would not be likely to arrive at Sandhurst until the start of 2006 (by which time security will, presumably, have been tightened). For the rest of 2005, he is thought likely to undertake charity work along with a period of travel.
Wherever he goes, the cameras are unlikely to be far away.
EDWARD BLACK, Scotsman June 18 2005