Prince William
Prince William attends the unveiling of The Victoria Cross Commemorative Paving Stones representing each of Birmingham's 1st World War recepients at the Hall of Memory, Centenary Square on Dec. 7, 2015 in Birmingham, England. Getty Images/Richard Stonehouse

Prince William’s friends from the University of St. Andrew reportedly kept a huge secret from him despite their close relationship.

In the YouTube documentary “Prince William at Thirty,” Prince William’s schoolmate Helen McArdle said that the Duke of Cambridge was treated very normally while he was in school. But what Prince William didn’t know was that all of his friends were actually starstruck by him. “Everyone was trying not to show it too much – for his sake,” she said.

“He was allowed to go to Tesco, go to Safeway, walk back and forth to the library and no one batted an eyelid – and certainly even in the halls of residence, after the initial excitement of the first time he came into the dining hall for breakfast,” she added.

McArdle added that their halls, St. Salvators, was a small community that was very protective of Prince William. And as such, the future king felt privileged that he was there.

Prince William previously opened up about how much he valued the normality that he received at the institution and said that this one of the reasons why he enjoyed his time there.

Before entering the university, the palace had an agreement with the press that Prince William would be left alone while getting his degree. Up to some extent, the palace’s request was granted by the press.

“It’s so good because everyone sees me around the whole time and it’s not a big deal, which is what I really want it to be. The last thing I want is to cause any hype or problems… I just want to go in there and get my asparagus or whatever,” he said.

But during one occasion, it was revealed that Prince Edward broke the rules that were set by the palace when it comes to Prince William’s privacy. The youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II allowed the press to take photos and videos of his nephew while in school.

This incident reportedly made Prince Charles furious at his younger brother. The public also became increasingly concerned about Prince William’s privacy following the incident.

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