Prince William, like thousands of other teenagers across Britain, is this week settling into college life as he finds his way around St Andrew's University. For many such first-time students, they are entering a brave new world, away from the security of home. This can be as daunting as it is exciting. Going off to college or university is a rite of passage.
Young students are on the threshold of adulthood, walking through the door to their future.
In the heady excitement of Freshers' Week when they are busy making friends, joining clubs and learning how to cook for one, few probably spare a thought for their parents and how they might be feeling. Sending a child off to college can have a devastating effect on parents. Not only is there the worry about how their beloved offspring will cope away from home, but there can also be a huge sense of loss. Women in particular can feel that they no longer have a role. Relationship experts Relate warn that this can trigger marital troubles and even divorce for couples who discover they've grown too far apart while focusing on bringing up their children.