Lady Louise Windsor will embrace bizarre St Andrews traditions – including uni ‘curse’

The Queen’s youngest granddaughter Lady Louise Windsor will be attending the same alma mater as her cousin Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, Buckingham Palace has announced. Louise will be studying English at St Andrews, Scotland’s first university founded in 1413. Here are just some of the traditions Louise will encounter during her time as a student at St Andrews.

The pier walk

First-year students flock to take part in their first pier walk on Sunday at the end of Freshers’ Week.

Dressed in red gowns, students walk the length of the pier after the chapel service.

The Gaudie, which falls on April 30, pays tribute to John Honey, a student in 1800 who rescued the stranded crew aboard the Janet of Macduff when it ran aground.

Students proceed by candlelight to lay a wreath at the site of the wreck in tribute to John Honey’s courage.

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The university’s curse

While enrolled at St Andrews, Louise will need to be aware of the university’s famous curse of Patrick Hamilton.

The University’s website explains: “‌The PH initials set into cobblestones outside the Sallies Quad mark the spot where Patrick Hamilton was burnt at the stake in 1582 for his Protestant beliefs.

“According to tradition, any student who steps on the PH will be cursed to fail their degree.”

Post-exam drenchings

Similar to the famous (and banned) ‘trashings’ of Oxford, students of St Andrews can expect to be met by their friends after their exams for ‘soakings’.

Under the tradition, students are showered with cold water after they complete their final undergraduate exam.

Raisin Monday

First-year students are adopted as ‘children’ by their third and fourth-year ‘parents’ at St Andrews.

And on Raisin Monday, children wear fancy dress selected by their parents to take part in the St Salvator’s Quad foam fight.

The university website adds: “Raisin Weekend dates far back into St Andrews’ history, and is so called because children traditionally gave their academic parents a pound of raisins to thank them for welcoming them to St Andrews.”