William will succeed his father as Prince of Wales

"I have lived there and wanted to get away and try somewhere else," he said. "I also knew I would be seeing a lot of Wales in the future."

William started to learn Welsh at Eton in 1999 in anticipation of succeeding his father as Prince of Wales.

His latest interview, as he prepares to begin a degree in the History of Art in the Fife town, is a strong indication he aims to take his duties in Wales seriously.

Welsh lessons

Prince Charles was invested to the post in the summer of 1969 during a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle after a crash course in the Welsh language at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

He showed he still had a command of the language when he made a speech at the opening of the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff in May 1999.

The Prince of Wales said he was anxious for his eldest son to be become fluent in the language in time for his investiture to the post, and had William take extra lessons from Ffion Hague's sister, Manon Williams.

I wanted to get away and try somewhere else - I knew I would be seeing a lot of Wales in the future

Prince William

Charles has been a frequent visitor throughout his role and is priming William for subsequent visits, after his father becomes the King.

The teenager has recently completed a gap year in which he undertook various projects in Chile and Africa before concentrating on his course, along with St Andrews's 6,500 other students.

"Having more independence is quite a big thing, although I've always got policemen around so I'm never completely independent," he said.

'Ordinary student'

"But I'm particularly looking forward to being able to manage my own time in a relaxed atmosphere. I want to go there and be an ordinary student.

"I mean, I'm only going to university. It's not like I'm getting married - though that's what it feels like sometimes."

Applications to close-knit St Andrews from the UK have shot up by 44% and international applicants have rocketed by 100% in anticipation of the prince's arrival.

But William said he could see through attempts by other teenagers to simply catch a glimpse of him.

"It will get easier as time goes on," he added. "Everyone will get bored of me - which they do."