The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took a trip down memory lane on Wednesday as they visited St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, where they first met 20 years ago.
Prince William and Kate, who celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in April, enrolled on the same art history course at the University of St Andrews in 2001. The Prince later switched to Geography, but their friendship blossomed into romance while they were living together in their second year.
The couple last visited the University in February 2011, in the lead-up to their royal wedding.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took a trip down memory lane on Wednesday as they visited St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, where they first met 20 years ago.
Prince William and Kate, who celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in April, enrolled on the same art history course at the University of St Andrews in 2001. The Prince later switched to Geography, but their friendship blossomed into romance while they were living together in their second year.
The couple last visited the University in February 2011, in the lead-up to their royal wedding.
The couple, who are notoriously competitive, raced each other in the wind-powered buggies on the West Sands beach.
It was William who proved the winner as he and his wife Kate went head-to-head.
The session, arranged by Fife Young Carers, was hosted by a local company, Blown Away, the only commercial land yachting firm in Scotland.
Always so competitive, he had been determined to get his technique right to ensure maximum speed.
“I want to go faster. I need to make sure I’ve got the right angle,” he told twins Jamie and Guy McKenzie, who runs the business.
“Wahoo!” he yelled as he pulled away from Kate.
“I’m catching you!” she shouted, laughing.
This sweet moment was captured between the couple, as William tenderly put his arm around his wife.
The couple spent the night before their visit in St Andrews, but they appeared to have forgotten how brisk the late spring nights can be on the east coast of Scotland.
“I opened the window last night and it was so cold,”
Kate told the young carers as they chatted on the beach.
She and William talked to the six teenagers, aged between 13 and 18, about their lives caring for sick parents or siblings and how they balance their responsibilities with school work and trying to do ordinary things that teenagers do.
The Duchess asked if their friends at school realised the challenges they face.
“Is it hard for them to relate to what you are doing?”
she asked.
“Do you think people, in general, are understanding?”
As they talked about their lives, she asked: “Do you find it hard to find time for yourselves and do things?”
William praised them for the care they gave their loved ones. “You guys do really well,” he told them. “You should be very proud of yourselves, guys.”
Back to where it all started! The Duke and Duchess then visited the University of St Andrews, where they met as first-year students in 2001.
The night before their visit, the couple were spotted leaving Forgan’s restaurant in the town after enjoying a romantic meal.
The couple also helped to finish painting socially distanced hearts on the university’s St Salvator’s Lawn, introduced by the Can Do scheme to encourage students to spend more time safely outdoors in small groups.
Kate also received a huge bouquet of flowers from eight-year-old Sam Scott from Pittenweem.
Sam was joined by brother Sean, 15, mum Pauline and dad Richard, who is vice president of the Fishermen’s Mutual Association (Pittenweem).
Richard, who catches around 180 lobsters a day in a one-man operation, said it had been a challenging year.
“The restaurants here were all closed but luckily Europe still wanted our seafood so we were only stopped for about a month,” he said.
“Others were stopped for longer so it was very difficult.”
After visiting their former university, William and Kate met with local fishermen from the Pittenweem Fishermen’s Mutual Association and their families to hear about the fishing industry in Fife, and the impact of the last year on fishing communities on the East Coast of Scotland.
The Duke and Duchess spent some time talking to a group of school children, who gave the couple a special card.
The three and four-year-olds proudly handed over the gift, which read: “Hope you enjoy your visit.”
