Kate Middleton and Prince William Checked Into Hotels with Fake Names

Kate Middleton and Prince William at The Carlyle Hotel in New York on December 7, 2014.

(Image credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

published 14 August 2024

Princess Kate and Prince William's romance first started while they were both studying at St Andrews in Scotland. Their relationship was far from a secret, though the young couple apparently enjoyed some discreet weekend getaways. However, as a royal, it's unlikely Prince William went unrecognized during these trips. Still, the prince apparently used some unexpected monikers in an attempt to fly under the radar.

In his new book, Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, royal expert Robert Jobson writes (via the Daily Mail), "For weekends and holidays, he'd often whisk Catherine off to Highgrove or Sandringham or to a cottage on the Balmoral estate." However, the young couple would also stay in hotels, but they'd attempt to disguise their identities when doing so. "Occasionally they checked into hotels using the names Mr and Mrs Smith—which doubtless fooled no one," Jobson wrote.

Prince William Graduates From St Andrews — "Occasionally they checked into hotels using the names Mr and Mrs Smith," Robert Jobson said of William and Kate.

As well as using pseudonyms for romantic hotel stays, Prince William apparently tried out other names during his college life. "In 2001, William quietly slipped into undergraduate life at St Andrews, where he used the pseudonym 'Steve' in a rather pathetic attempt to stay under the radar," Jobson explained. Of course, it's more than likely most of his fellow students recognized the prince immediately. Still, it seems that Prince William is a fan of having secret identities.

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Jobson isn't the first royal expert to discuss Prince William's love of fake names. In his book William and Catherine, royal biographer Andrew Morton revealed (via the Mirror) that Kate and William visited the Seychelles together in 2007. "Kate and William, under the assumed names of Martin and Rose Middleton, bid farewell to the paradise island of Desroches in the Outer Seychelles where they had spent a sublime week renewing their love affair," Morton wrote. Clearly, the Prince and Princess of Wales enjoy their privacy, and they aren't afraid to use fake names from time to time.

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.