While The Crown was showing THE catwalk encounter in St. Andrews, what almost caused a PR DISASTER for Prince William (leaving ‘hot’ Kate Middleton to save the day for Wills and the Royal Family)?

It was the kind of simple ‘wobble’ that many new students go through during their first weeks at university. A little homesickness perhaps, mixed with fear of the new and a bit of buyer’s remorse.

But there’s no such thing as a simple wobble when you’re second in line to the throne and your every move is scrutinized, as Prince William found out in his first weeks in St Andrews.

His suggestion that he resign after his first term was seen not only as futile, but also as a potential public relations disaster.

It didn’t take long into his first year at university for William to realize how ‘boring’ – his word – could be life in a small Scottish seaside town.

According to royal biographers, the university initially did not meet his expectations

It was suggested that William had spent only two of his first thirteen semester weekends at St. Andrews, often leaving for London or Gloucestershire as soon as his work for the week was over.

He had, of course, grown up surrounded by bright lights, and St Andrews had not quite lived up to expectations, according to royal biographer Robert Lacey.

At that stage, he suggests, the highlights for William were ‘shopping in the local Tesco’. And while there were evenings with friends, these were limited and ‘clouded’ by his status as a prince.

“Academically, the prince did not think his art history was everything he wanted it to be,” Lacey suggests in his book Battle of Brothers.

William escaped university as often as he could, heading all the way back to London or Highgrove as soon as his studies were finished for the following week.

As royal writer Tina Brown put it in her book The Palace Papers, William ‘was bored by St. Andrews for all the reasons his police protection liked it.’

There were some reports that the prince had spent only two of his first thirteen semester weekends in the city.

True or not, when he returned home for Christmas in December 2001, the future king told his father, Prince Charles, that he was ready to leave – or at least change universities for somewhere in England or abroad.

Even ‘cosmopolitan’ Edinburgh seemed attractive compared to parochial Fife.

But while his father agreed to the change, Buckingham Palace officials were less understanding, Lacey reports.

Charles’s private secretary, Sir Stephen Lamport, and his deputy and ‘spin doctor’, Mark Bolland, were equally shocked, saying that ‘it would have been a personal disaster for William’.

Officials felt this would portray the prince as a quitter, fearing a repeat of the criticism that followed Prince Edward’s decision to withdraw from Royal Marine training.

When he returned home for Christmas in December 2001, the future king told his father, Prince Charles, that he was ready to leave St. Andrews.

While his father agreed to the change, Buckingham Palace officials were less understanding and urged the prince to comply

Then there was the prospect of an ‘even greater’ disaster for the monarchy, which Lacey describes as: ‘The likely political and social consequences in Scotland, where much attention had been paid to the heir apparent coming to study north of the border. ‘

That was too late, as Scotland had voted for devolution in 1998, just three years earlier.

Following the passing of the Scotland Act 1998, Westminster’s powers were transferred to a newly created Scottish parliamentary body.

“William must lay down and not sink,” was Prince Philip’s response.

St. Andrews reportedly worked hard to retain the prince and William was able to switch to geography, a subject he would better appreciate.

In the Palace Papers, Brown suggested that the future Princess of Wales also played a role in William’s happiness at St. Andrews. She wrote: ‘At this critical moment, Kate Middleton demonstrated a gentle mastery of soft power, reminiscent of the Queen Mother’s handling of George VI.

‘In a series of serious conversations, she urged William to abandon his art history, a subject in which he had little or no interest.’

Tina Brown suggested that Catherine, the future Princess of Wales, had also played a role in keeping William at university

Prince William pictured at his graduation ceremony in June 2005

Speaking about life in St Andrews later in 2003, the prince said he felt “disheartened” by completely alien terror.

He said: ‘It’s a new environment, a new landscape, and I didn’t know exactly what to expect. It’s basically the same as going to school and I felt a little uncomfortable.

‘But I went home and talked to my dad over the holidays and during that time I was debating whether I should come back – not seriously, seriously debating it – but it did cross my mind.

‘My father was very understanding about it and realized that I probably had the same problems as him. He was very good at it and we talked a lot and eventually we both realized – I certainly realized – that I had to come back.