Lady Louise Windsor set to face 'intimidating' tradition at St Andrew's university

Lady Louise Windsor could be invited to observe a historic tradition at the University of St. Andrew's – and it's likely to put her nerves to the test. 

• Lady Louise Windsor could face an 'intimidating' tradition at the University of St. Andrew's, depending on which accommodation she ends up choosing. 
• The Royal Family confirmed that the only daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex will study at the Scottish university from next month after she earned the necessary grades to read English for the next four years. 
• In other royal news, Prince Harry is 'echoing' Princess Diana's bravery and 'fearless desire for freedom' in new biography.
  

Life is about to drastically change for Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex's only daughter, as the royal teenager leaves Bagshot Park and heads to college in a whole new country. 

Lady Louise Windsor's future plans to read English at the University of St. Andrew's were confirmed by Buckingham Palace last week, marking the third royal to attend the prestigious Scottish institution. (Prince William and Kate Middleton were the first two, of course.) 

It remains unknown where the 18-year-old will live during her studies, but it's been speculated that she could be residing at St. Salvator's, one of the university's Halls of Residence. The fully catered accommodation, which was also home to Kate and William when they were Freshers, offers a whole host of handy amenities – including an IT suite, a common room with a snooker table, and even a weekly cleaning service. 

It also offers its 285 students the chance to network with some of the university's most bigwigs over the course of the academic year. 

Often considered to be the plushest house on campus, St. Salvator's (fondly known as 'Sallies to students) has preserved a number of traditions that have completely died out the uni's other Halls of Residences. 

One of these surviving historic practices is the High Table, a weekly dinner that takes place every Thursday in the building's fancy dining room. A small selection of students is invited to join a high-ranking member of the university, such as a Professor or an influential alum, for an intellectual discussion over a swanky three-course meal. 

Monica Burns, a former resident at St. Salvator's, details her experience of the prestigious tradition in a blog post for the Museum of the University of St. Andrew's. 

"As formal and intimidating as this sounds, what I found was that it was just fancy embellishments over what is just a friendly and social dinner with your friends and members of university staff," she wrote. 

There's also plenty of liquor to lubricate students' nerves, with a sherry reception to start and a glass of port in the Regent's Room to finish. 

"Every student in [the] hall is invited to High Table over the course of the year so that everybody gets a shot," Burns added. 

It's very likely that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sat at the High Table themselves, having both lodged at St. Salvator's for their first year of university before moving to a student house off-campus. Hopefully, they'll be able to give Lady Louise some tips on how to handle the daunting social event – not that she needs them, of course.