The Hilarious Reason Prince William Got Banned From His Local DVD Store at University

The royal reportedly got into trouble after hiring 2002 comedy 'Boat Trip'—and his bodyguards were no help at all.

Prince William has big blond hair and piercing eyes, he wears a light blue shirt with a dark blue sweater over the top, on his first day at St Andrews University in Scotland
(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

It's a little hard to believe that the Prince of Wales could run up fines at his local video store, but that's exactly what happened, according to a new report.

When Prince William was attending the University of St Andrews in the early 2000s, he apparently had a penchant for hiring DVDs. However, the royal got himself into some entirely relatable trouble when he didn't return the movies on time.

According to The Sun, a video store assistant named Zoe allegedly recalled serving the Prince of Wales during his college days. "We used to serve Prince William quite regularly in the video shop in St Andrews before everything went digital," she claimed. "His DVDs were always late and his bodyguards would never want to pay the fines."

Zoe continued, "We would end up, because it was just part of it, we had to ban Prince William until he paid up, which he always did in the end. He's very nice."

According to the video store assistant, Prince William failed to return 2002 raunchy comedy Boat Trip within the allotted time. "It's got a very scantily clad lady in a blue bikini riding a banana [on the cover]," Zoe said. "He rented that a couple of times at least."

In November 2004, Prince William opened up about his time at the University of St Andrews during an interview with the BBC. "I've had a really good time, it's been brilliant," he told the outlet. "I've really enjoyed it."

When asked what he enjoyed most about his time at St Andrews, the Prince of Wales explained, "Basically, apart from the fact all the locals are really warm, friendly and I get on really well with them, I've been left alone by the media, in a big way actually, and for that I am very grateful. It's been just three and a half years obviously so far where I've been very independent and been left alone to study and do my own thing."

An early 2000s picture of Prince William in a navy sweater looking behind him in front of a fence at St. Andrews

"I go out, get takeaway, rent videos, go to the cinema, just basically anything I want to really," Prince William told the BBC in 2004.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Revealing that he was able to live a relatively normal existence in Scotland, in spite of his royal status, William described the ordinary activities he enjoyed. "I do all my own shopping," he told the BBC. "I go out, get takeaway, rent videos, go to the cinema, just basically anything I want to really. There are obviously certain talks I can't go to if people come up here, [but] that's really the only restriction."

During the same interview, Prince William confessed that he rarely carried money, which might explain his reluctance to pay his video store fines. "Usually I'm not organized enough to have cash, I pay with my credit card," he explained.

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Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing 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.