Announcing His Royal Highness...

"Dost mine ears deceive me?" [yes, I did just reference the Genie in Disney's Aladdin :) ]

No they do not! Because....

PRINCE WILLIAM IS COMING TO SAINT ANDREWS!!!!!!!!! (say what?!)

Before I left home on this wild adventure, I kept joking about how I thought Prince William and his finance Kate Middleton should come up to St. Andrews while I was in the country, seeing as they studied here together, and without the University, there wouldn't be a wedding in April!  I knew it would be a long shot, but anything can happen, right?  And then, my dream came true.

Last Monday (2/14), the entire student body, as well as faculty and staff, received an email from the Principal of the University announcing the launch of the University's 600th anniversary celebrations.  [Quick side note on the history of the University of St. Andrews:  in February of 1411, St. Andrews received its official royal charter issued by Bishop Henry Wardlaw.  Two years later, Pope Benedict XIII declared the school to be a full University].  I knew when I first enrolled in St. Andrews that 2013 marked its 600th anniversary, and was somewhat disappointed that I would be missing it by only two years (as I said in an earlier post, I absolutely love tradition and the celebration of tradition!).  So what a great surprise it was to find out last Monday that the celebrations would last for two years and that I would be here to partake in them!  The Principal also announced in this email that His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales had accepted the role of Patron of the 600th anniversary, and that as such he would be attending a reception in St. Andrews on Friday the 25th, accompanied by Miss Catherine Middleton!!!!!! [insert a lengthy cheer of excitement here]

[for the full press release of the upcoming event, visit:  http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/600/news/archive/title,64719,en.php]

Apparently, this event is one of the two only public appearances the royal couple are making before their big day in April.  A wise decision, if you ask me.  On Friday, the Prince and his bride-to-be are attending a reception hosted by the Principal and other important University figures and will then head to the Quad (the courtyard of St. Salvator's Chapel) where they will present a plaque commemorating the start of the anniversary celebrations in front of the student body, staff, and faculty.  Well, I should say, a representation of the student body, etc. as any individual interested in attending the ceremony had to apply (that's right, apply) to do so.  Naturally, I submitted my application detailing my personal information (I wouldn't be surprised if security ran a background check on all of the attendees) as soon as was physically possible after receiving the email.  Sadly, I did not receive a ticket :( :( But I know several other JSAs who did!! (As did my super sweet and wonderful cleaning lady, Dawn - be on the lookout for an upcoming post on how amazing she is!)  I'm pretty sure that the American JSAs (specifically female American JSAs) are more excited that anyone else that the Prince is coming....I chalk it up to the fact that royalty doesn't exist in Amurica (spelled phonetically) - and so, we are all obsessed with it!

Though speaking of background checks, the intensity of the security surrounding this shindig astounds me.  Since Monday of this week, all of the classes that usually are held in the buildings that make up the Quad have been relocated to other buildings on campus.  In fact, students are not even allowed to enter the Quad.  All of the entrances are locked, with policemen regularly patrolling every gate (this is easily the most policemen I have seen at any given time since I have been here.  I feel that St. Andrews' police are generally more of a behind-the-scenes force, as opposed to the plethora of police that stake out William and Mary's campus every evening).  Only faculty and graduate students have been allowed to enter the buildings on the Quad.  So crazy!  There are currently numerous rumors circulating amongst the students regarding the increased security, including that even the drains of these buildings are being examined for and secured against any kind of threat.  Even my Scottish history class tomorrow (which is not located on the Quad) has been moved to another lecture hall because our originally assigned room overlooks the Quad.

Other non-rumors that I have heard regarding the pending arrival of His Royal Highness:

- The faculty received an email asking that they report anything they hear about students planning to hold protests during the ceremony (information courtesy of my Human Rights professor).
- Likewise, a classmate of mine emailed the University complaining of the inconvenience of the newly heightened security/closed buildings.  In return, a police officer hand-delivered a letter to her flat, asking, almost begging really, that she please, please, please not protest during the Prince's stay.

[Oh goodness, this is turning into a rather long post, now isn't it? (I guess that's what happens when I go so long between entries - I should work on that).  I'll try to wrap this up quickly!]

After the ceremony in the Quad (the time of which they will only disclose to those actually attending the ceremony), William and Kate will probably take sometime to walk around North Street (the main street the University is located on).  As we were not selected to attended the ceremony, Margaret Ann and my new plan-of-action is to stake out a spot on North Street and hope that we see the Royal Couple!  I also think that they should make an obligatory stop in Sallies, seeing as they both lived here, but we'll see if that happens.  Apparently, press and locals have been trying to get in my building all week to see where the couple first met!! Wow - I definitely was placed in the best dorm. :) :) :)

Other fun facts regarding the events on Friday, William + Kate, and other such things:

1. Around 3500 students and 650 faculty and staff members applied to attend the plaque-awarding ceremony this Friday!  They still have not disclosed how many were actually selected to attend.
2. As I said earlier, the University will not publicly say what time the ceremony is to take place.  This makes it very difficult to efficiently stalk North Street in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Prince!
3. No cameras will be allowed into the Quad during the ceremony.  So, even if I had been selected to go, I wouldn't be able to document the event anyways.  Lame.  By not going, I actually have a better chance of getting a picture of him! (provided that I obtain a good spot on North Street!)
4. [The following points are the result of a lengthy conversation with one of the Head Wardens and several other JSA ladies :) ]   When Prince William lived in Sallies, bulletproof glass was installed in the windows of his room.  His room apparently also had a bathroom (which is interesting since the rest of the building has hall-style baths) which could double as a panic room/bomb shelter in case of emergency.  Since his room is obviously a highly desirable room to live in, the assistant warden assigned to that floor gets to live in it.  Lucky her!
5. When Prince William publicly announced that he would be attending the University of St. Andrews, the number of female applicants to the school increased exponentially.
6. The Prince's bodyguards lived in the rooms surrounding his.  They enrolled as full-time students at the University, and most people thought that they were just his close friends.  They all graduated with full degrees in various subjects.
7. When William and Kate announced their engagement in the Fall, several people broke in (or at least tried to break in) to Sallies to try to obtain some kind of memorabilia from when they lived here.  Subsequently, the picture of their class has been removed from the Common Room for safe-keeping.

So, in short... I'M SO EXCITED THAT THE PRINCE AND KATE ARE COMING!!!!!!

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Oh wow.  That really is a lot of text.  I apologize!  But its about the Prince...so that justifies the length of this entry, right?  (right?!)