© 2026 ABC News

After the land yachting, William and Kate, who are on a week-long tour of Scotland, visited St. Andrews University, where they first met and fell in love as students 20 years ago.

Their return to the university saw the Cambridges talking with students about how they have coped during the past year-and-a-half of the pandemic, joining an interfaith discussion on support during the pandemic and learning about an initiative to help students' mental health.

William and Kate also planted the first tree for the St. Andrews Forest, which is designed to help the university become carbon neutral by 2035, according to Kensington Palace.

\"PHOTO:Prince
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
PHOTO:Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge land yachting, West Sands Beach, St Andrews, Scotland, May 26, 2021.
>

During their days as students at St. Andrews in the early 2000s, William and Kate started out as friends and later became roommates.

They both studied art history and geography and shared a farm house with several friends.

20 years on.

It was great to return to @univofstandrews to see fantastic projects that support the physical and mental health of young people. pic.twitter.com/FU6Uxr5cta

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 26, 2021

Jules Knight, a classmate of the couple, shared memories of the two in a BBC America special that aired after their engagement in 2010. He said William seemed smitten with Kate from the beginning.

\"I think he, he just took a shine to her, really,\" Knight said. They \"spent a lot of time together and were very good friends for a long time, and I think that blossomed into something more.\"

Brian Lang, former principal at St. Andrews University, told ABC News in 2010 that the Cambridges' love story unfolded in front of an intimate audience of classmates and friends.

\"We gave them four years of normal life, four years in which they could get to know one another free of the intrusion, glare, publicity,\" he said.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/prince-william-kate-land-yachting-return-university-fell/story?id=77900226","legacySlug":"/culture/story/prince-william-kate-land-yachting-return-university-fell-77900226","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:00","publishDate":"05-26-2021","updatedTime":"16:00","updatedDate":"05-26-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge land yachting, West Sands Beach, St Andrews, Scotland, May 26, 2021.","credit":"Tim Rooke/Shutterstock","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/royals-sh-ml-210526_1622029977996_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/26/2021 16:00:49 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":77900226,"headline":"Prince William, Kate go land yachting in Scotland","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_William and Kate St. Andrews_210525","description":"William and Kate spent the day at St. Andrews University and the county of Fife.","duration":"1:00","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/04/210429_gma_digital_kate_william_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["77084646","77787268","76629208"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 17, 2021","headline":"Princes William, Harry walk together at Prince Philip's funeral","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/princes-william-harry-walk-prince-philips-coffin-20-77084646","id":77084646,"image":{"alt":"Princes William, Harry walk together at Prince Philip's funeral","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/prince-philip-funeral-william-harry-gty-jt-210417_1618668854018_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Alastair Grant/WPA Pool via Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 20, 2021","headline":"William, Harry respond to BBC report finding Martin Bashir 'deceived' Diana","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/martin-bashir-deceived-induced-secure-bbc-interview-princess-77787268","id":77787268,"image":{"alt":"William, Harry respond to BBC report finding Martin Bashir 'deceived' Diana","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/princess-diana-prince-harry-prince-william-02-gty-llr-210519_1621451148804_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Tim Graham/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"March 23, 2021","headline":"Prince William, Kate visit COVID-19 vaccination site at same spot where they wed","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/prince-william-kate-visit-covid-19-vaccination-site-76629208","id":76629208,"image":{"alt":"Prince William, Kate visit COVID-19 vaccination site at same spot where they wed","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/will-kate2-ap-ml-210323_1616507880327_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Aaron Chown Pool via AP","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Prince William, Kate go land yachting in Scotland","description":"William and Kate spent the day at St. Andrews University and the county of Fife.","duration":"1:00","uploadDate":"05-26-2021","publication":"05-26-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/04/210429_gma_digital_kate_william_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/04/210429_gma_digital_kate_william_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/prince-william-kate-land-yachting-return-university-fell-77900226"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133075455","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063114","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063086","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Prince William, Kate go land yachting in Scotland","pubTime":"12:00","pubDate":"05-26-2021","modTime":"12:00","modDate":"05-26-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":77900226,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"Brittany Berkowitz","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Prince William, Kate go land yachting in Scotland","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_William and Kate St. Andrews_210525","videoId":77900226,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/prince-william-kate-land-yachting-return-university-fell-77900226"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/77900226","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/77900226","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};