According to The Cut, Prince William was popular in the social circles at Eton College, which he attended as a teenager. “William was very integrated,” one of the royal’s schoolmates told the outlet. “There’s this sort of society in your top year where if you’re kind of popular or beloved by teachers and boys alike you get voted into the Eton society, which is known as ‘Pop.’ William was a Pop so he was like a homecoming-king type.” It makes sense that a royal would be popular in class, but Prince William’s popularity is surprising given his innate sense of shyness, something he and his mother had in common.
In his book “William and Kate: The Love Story,” author Robert Jobson suggested that William’s “shy” mannerisms were a trait handed down from Princess Diana, who was nicknamed Shy Di. However, “in many ways, ‘William the bashful’ was a person he invented; a very effective cover for a boy who was growing in confidence daily,” Jobson wrote. So, perhaps William wasn’t as shy as he made himself out to be? After hearing of his “shy” reputation, the Duke of Cambridge dispelled the myth himself. “I was called shy because I put my head down so much when I was in public,” he revealed in a 2002 interview (via Express), adding that “it was never because I was shy.” He continued, “I thought that … if I kept my head down, then I wouldn’t be photographed so much.”