Prince William struck up a close friendship with Bryony Daniels when they began studying geography together at the town's university. On 23rd March 2003 Bryony was in the spotlight at a charity fashion show - but Prince William did not attend.
Prince William and Bryony Daniels
Bryony is 5ft 11in and was chosen to model for the Don't Walk 2003 show, organised by students and held at the St Andrews Bay Golf Resort and Spa hotel.
One guest at the show said: "Bryony really is one helluva babe. Wills will be kicking himself when he sees the pictures that he wasn’t here to witness it in the flesh."
In 2002, William surprised onlookers by taking a front-row seat at the Don't Walk fashion show - then a fledgling event at the student union.
A university friend said: "Bryony and Will met in the first semester of their first year at St Andrews and hit it off straight away. However, they are both a little shy and their friendship has gradually developed.
"They are now very close and companionable and are often seen wandering in the town together. It appears like a friendship on the cusp of a deeper relationship."
He added: "Bryony is an incredibly sweet-natured girl who has won the respect and friendship of many. She is athletic, talented and intelligent and has a very active social life."
Bryony is the daughter of wealthy landowner David Daniels and his wife Pauline, wheat farmers who own the prestigious Paines Manor and Pauls Hall Farms in Sudbury, Suffolk.
Mrs Daniels said: "My daughter is on the same course as Prince William and they are on friendly terms. They naturally see a fair amount of each other because they are studying the same things."
Bryony lives a short walk from the prince in a large house she shares with five girlfriends.
Her best friend Virginia Fraser is also a friend of the prince - belonging to his St Andrews set. Virginia, who lives in the same street as William, is the only daughter of Lloyd's underwriter Lord Strathalmond and was educated at Downe House, a leading boarding school whose former pupils include Princess Michael of Kent's daughter, Lady Gabriella Windsor.
The two girls, along with Kate Middleton, are understood to have accompanied the prince to a party at Wood Farm near Sandringham in January.
William invited 15 friends to the farmhouse, six of whom were girls, for the weekend in the grounds of the Queen's estate.
The Daily Telegraph took a different angle on the story - implying that other newspapers had exaggerated the friendship of William and Bryony - and published an old photograph of them walking along the street. A senior royal aide said of Bryony Daniels: "She is not his girlfriend, just someone he knows."
The aides were said to be extremely concerned that tabloid newspapers had abandoned an agreement to allow the prince to study in peace.
The newspaper added that fears that the tabloid press will declare "open season" on Prince William could drive him to abandon his studies at St Andrews University.
It said that the recent escalation in the publication of snatched photographs of the prince has alarmed senior aides at St James's Palace. Their fear was that it would create a market for paparazzi photographs, which they had sought to avoid since the prince began his studies at St Andrews.