The fake name Prince William used to distance himself from the Royal Family

Prince William
(Image credit: Getty)

Prince William used a fake name to distance himself from the Royal Family while he was at university.

Prince William used a fake name in the hope it would help him go unnoticed at university and protect his privacy.

The Duke of Cambridge was born into the Royal Family so he's grown up under the spotlight of media and public attention but in an attempt to lead a regular student life, the young Prince tried to hide behind a secret name.

Following a gap year, the Duke of Cambridge attended The University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, in 2001 and he graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 master's degree in geography.

But with his name becoming well-known as he grew up, the Duke took privacy matters into his own hands by attempting to go unnoticed while he was studying in the hope of leading as much of a normal life as possible.

Despite enrolling under the name of 'William Wales', the prince decided to go one further and come up with a fake name that he would use to deter any unwanted attention. The name he chose to go by was 'Steve'.

Prince William

379426 15: (USA SALES ONLY) Britain's Prince William stands at his home September 29, 2000 near Tetbury, South West England. The Prince posed for cameras prior to taking a year out, before starting St. Andrews University in Scotland in 2001. (Photo by UK Press)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William met his now wife at university and it was previously revealed that Kate had a sneaky way of saving Prince William from being chatted up at university and it helped him avoid any unwanted attention.

The couple married in 2011 and have three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

On his first day at university crowds gathered outside to welcome the young Prince when he arrived with his father Prince Charles.

Prince William and Prince Charles

(Original Caption) Prince William, accompanied by his father Prince Charles, greets crowds on arrival at St. Andrew's University where the young prince will be studying for a degree in art history. (Photo by Colin McPherson/Sygma via Getty Images)
(Image credit: Sygma via Getty Images)

And he's not the only royal with a nickname, Prince William has an unusual nickname for daughter Charlotte and Prince George has an adorable nickname for his dad William.

The Duke has used a number of nicknames over the years, his mother Princess Diana used to call him 'wombat' by his mother. In an NBC interview in 2007, William admitted to being stuck with the name, “I can’t get rid of it now,” he said.

“It began when I was two. I’ve been rightfully told because I can’t remember back that far, but when we went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that’s the local animal, so I just basically got called that, not because I look like a wombat, or maybe I do.”

Selina Maycock
Senior Entertainment Writer

Selina is currently a Senior Entertainment Writer for Goodto.com, formerly Senior Entertainment writer for Woman&Home, and My Imperfect Life and has more than 16 years of experience in newspapers, magazines and online. She currently writes a mix of Entertainment news - including celebrity births, weddings and reality show line-ups including Strictly, Dancing On Ice and The Great British Bake Off, reporting the the latest news about the Royal kids Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet as well as Family news stories from baby names to store closures and product recall warnings. Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand. When she's not interviewing celebrities you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories.