Queen Elizabeth ‘overstayed’ her time at an important ceremony, but the reason why is so heartwarming

The late Queen Elizabeth II often spoke of the life of service she swore to observe when she became monarch in 1952, and nobody could accuse Her Majesty of not walking the walk. Throughout her historic 70 year reign, the late Queen became known (and adored) for the special way she connected with others – and one story of her “overstaying” her time at Prince William’s graduation ceremony sums that up perfectly.

• Queen Elizabeth once “overstayed” her time at Prince William’s graduation – and it was for the sweetest of reasons
• The former Vice Chancellor of Prince William’s university claimed that Her Majesty stayed longer than expected as she mingled with other families and really took in the “very happy day”
• In other royal news, Mike Tindall just debunked a common misconception about marrying into the Royal Family

The late Queen Elizabeth was a dedicated monarch to her subjects for a historic 70 years.

Indeed, being queen came so naturally to her that it’s thought the one part of her job that annoyed her was the “hush” that would come about when she entered a room – simply because she wanted to meet people and chat to them properly.

And this was never more evident than when being queen was secondary to being a grandmother.

At Prince William’s graduation from St Andrews – where he achieved a Master of Arts degree in Geography – Queen Elizabeth was in attendance to witness her grandson’s achievement.

She was joined by King Charles and Queen Camilla, then Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as her late husband Prince Philip to watch the ceremony on a sunny Scottish day.

Speaking to HELLO! magazine, Dr Brian Lang, who was Principal and Vice Chancellor of the university during William's time, explained that the late Queen was more than happy to just be another family member soaking up the atmosphere.

He explained, “We had a very, very happy day. The sun shone. There was a little garden party. The late Queen way overstayed the time she was supposed to be in St Andrews.”

“She met other parents, other grandparents and she made it quite clear to her staff that she was not going to leave until she was ready to.”

He added, “A few days later, I came across the Queen again. I was presented to her at the opening of a new public building in Edinburgh. And she explained what a wonderful time she had had that day in St Andrews.”

“I remember her calling out, 'Philip, Philip, come here quickly. It's Dr Lang from St Andrews.' We had such a lovely day.”

This isn’t the first time stories of the late Queen’s down to earth nature have been shared. Actress Joanna Lumley once told a hilarious story of how Her Majesty shocked everyone by wasting no time in dropping to her knees to help light a fire.