Last March, St Andrews buzzed with excitement as the town made way for the filming of the sixth and final season of Netflix’s hit series The Crown. Covering Prince William and Kate Middleton’s blossoming relationship and studies at the university, the series fuelled the town’s pride as being “where Kate met Wills.” Indeed, this infectious atmosphere exploded the week film sets, camera crews, and actors (including St Andrews students as extras) arrived. Students and locals sped across town to catch a glimpse of the action. For current students such as myself, this time was one of the most niche and memorable experiences I have had while studying here. While the close tie between the university and the royal couple may get redundant at times, it is hard not to get swept away by the curiosity of what their experience here must have been like in the early 2000s. As such, I eagerly awaited the season’s release, ready to compare its depiction of the town and University to my experience as a student now.
What struck me most during production last year and when watching the two episodes featuring St Andrews (Alma Mater and Hope Street) were the changes made to the town. Temporary renovations to once-familiar cafes, streets, and school buildings transported them back to the early 2000s. Walking along North Street the day they filmed Prince William’s arrival to St Andrews felt surreal. Suddenly, I was walking amongst extras dressed in 2000s-style fashion and waving British flags. It felt like I was there on that day over two decades ago. During this walk, I was also surprised that North Point Cafe – the place I loved for its pancakes and cappuccinos – was turned into a film site. Instead of seeing its characteristic red walls, I found the Italian restaurant Kate would waitress in during the Alma Mater episode. Indeed, I was initially confused as it is well known that Kate and Will frequented North Point Cafe (established in 2001, their first year of university) for coffee dates together.
Later, when watching Alma Mater, I was also surprised by how different the interior of our main library looked compared to the refurbishments we have now. Although I knew some main library floors were cleared for filming last year, I wondered if they had to film at another location because the architecture looked so different (besides the infamous concrete). However, a glimpse of a window during a shot of Will scanning library books offered a bit of familiarity with what appeared to be West Sands in the background. I found it entertaining to compare the foreign technology and interior of the library to what we have now. However, I found points of similarity to be equally entertaining. I could not help but laugh that even Prince William himself experienced the disappointment of being ‘beat to’ the books by his peers (convenient in his case, as it turns out to be Kate). However, the fight for limited research and study material has not successfully led me to any meet-cutes or moments with crushes. Additionally, no dramatic fights or fits of storming out have occurred in the library either (at least when I have been around). Yet, occasionally, I have overheard some questionable conversations, heated debates, and awkward situationship scruffles. Thus, while my eyes were initially keen on changes between the show and now, such differences conversely revealed that some things about the university – specifically, the events and student culture – never seem to change.
Kate Middleton’s 2002 catwalk for the St Andrews Charity Fashion Show was one of the most talked about scenes in Hope Street. When the show came out, my friends and family bombarded me with the question Does the school really do events like those? I would testify that not only do they exist, but they have multiplied over the years. Similar shows have emerged from different themes and fashion styles, including Catwalk, Don’t Walk, VS, Sitara, and Umbutu. Indeed, fashion shows and VIP afterparties (also depicted in Hope Street) are arguably the most unique events the University of St Andrews offers. There was something fun and exciting in confirming to my friends and family (who are used to the American university experience of tailgates and sports games) that extravagant experiences such as these are available at my university. Maybe it is the American international student in me that also found it exciting to say Kate Middleton made jaw-dropping fashion history at the same university I go to.
Yet, beyond the glitz and glamor of the university’s fashion shows, I was most pleased seeing another endearing tradition appear during the final moments of Hope Street. As Will and Kate’s story draws to a close in this episode, the final shot of St Andrews depicts the royal couple hosting a candlelit dinner for their friends. I found this to be the perfect way to conclude one’s vision of the University. Sharing a meal with friends – whether in the communal kitchens of halls or the flats in town – is a simple, commonplace event encompassing the unchanging, familial bond at the heart of St Andrews’ student culture. I feel as though every day, I hear students asking each other what the other is doing for dinner and if they wanna come over later?. Dinner with one another is testimony that – here – friends are everything. Whether it be going to lavish events like fashion shows together or simply providing a comforting presence throughout the school year, friends are the core of everything we do here in St Andrews. They become a kind of second family, especially for those of us whose families are thousands of miles away. They are the constancy we need in the midst of these four formative years of our lives. As such, it is ultimately the little, almost forgotten scene of a simple meal with friends that makes me proud to say I go to the University of St Andrews.