Prince William has decided to study art history at St. Andrews University in Scotland, sparking speculation that he could avoid paying tuition fees if he claims his grandmother's place, Balmoral Castle, as his principal residence.
The announcement yesterday that the 18-year-old Prince has been accepted by the small university, located near the famed golf course where the British Open was held, ends months of speculation. He will take a four-year master of arts course in art history, beginning in the fall of 2001, after he spends a year off, known as a gap year.
The decision to select a Scottish university not only means that the Prince won't be studying at one of Britain's most prestigious universities, Oxford or Cambridge, but raises the issue of Scotland's decision to go its own way on tuition fees.
The British government has imposed annual tuition fees of £1,050 (about $2,275) a year but the newly established Scottish Assembly has rejected the concept, eliminating those fees for Scottish students.
That means a student with a Scottish address, such as the Queen's summer home at Balmoral Castle, gets free tuition while English students have to pay fees for the first three years of their degree. The fourth year is free for English students as well.
Prince Charles, who received a bachelor of arts from Cambridge and is fascinated by architecture, said he is delighted with his son's acceptance at St. Andrews and the results of his A-level examinations, the British university entrance exams, which were issued yesterday for 750,000 students nationwide.
Prince William attended Eton College, where he earned an A in geography, a B in art history and a C in biology.
"I know how hard William worked to achieve these excellent results and I am very proud that he has done so well," said Prince Charles, who congratulated his son by e-mail.
As for William, he received the news of his university acceptance from Belize, where he is taking part in army survival exercises with the Welsh Guards, of which his father is a colonel.
The young Prince, who will remain in the Central American country until the end of the month, is with about 200 soldiers who are learning how to live in the jungle. Sleeping accommodation consists of a hammock under a waterproof shelter.
Following the exercises, William is expected to leave for a few weeks on an unspecified "educational project." He is expected to spend much of his gap year in Australia, although Buckingham Palace hasn't confirmed that.
Initially, it was thought that the Prince would go to the University of Bristol, then the University of Edinburgh, before St. Andrews got the nod.
One advantage of St. Andrews is that it's a relatively small institution, with only 6,000 students, situated in a small historic town where security problems are unlikely to be as acute as in a larger city such as Edinburgh.
Founded in 1410, St. Andrews is Scotland's oldest university and the third-oldest in Britain. Located an hour north of Edinburgh, the town is also the birthplace of golf.
It's hardly a radical choice. St. Andrews is popular with graduates of posh public schools such as Eton.
St. Andrews is the only Scottish university where students wear bright red capes.
Social life includes private dinner parties, Raisin Sunday, where new students dress in outrageous costumes, and the annual May Ball, which raises money for charity.
William won't have a lack of choice in dates either. Eighty per cent of undergraduates studying art history at the university are women.