The late Queen 'overstayed' on her visit to St. Andrews for William's graduation

We doubt anyone minded too much

Prince William Graduates From St Andrews
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The late Queen made sure to travel to support her grandson Prince William when he graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 2005.

But what was meant to be a fleeting visit turned into something a bit more intense when Queen Elizabeth II appeared to be having the time of her life being just another family member at a University graduation.

"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," Dr. Brian Lang, the University's former Principal and Vice Chancellor recalled, speaking to Hello!.

"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."

To be fair, we're not particularly surprised to hear this, knowing that the Queen was a woman who knew what she wanted throughout her life.

"The Queen was wonderful. She was a great lady," Brian added, remembering his time in her company. "She would be quite reserved when she first meets you, but as soon as she realises that you're actually quite a reasonable human being, her eye begins to twinkle and she loves a funny story.

"I had lunch with the Queen not long afterwards and she again repeated how happy she'd been to have seen William at St. Andrews."

But it wasn't just the Queen: Brian was full of praise for the whole family.

"The royals are charming," he said. "They are very comfortable meeting people. They're sociable, very friendly and they put people at their ease very, very quickly."

William studied Geography at the University, which of course, is also where he met his future wife Kate Middleton. There, the future Princess was studying History of Art — a passion she has pursued to this day through her love of photography.

Fast forward to the present day, and William's cousin Lady Louise Windsor is now following in his footsteps at St. Andrews. The Queen would have been so proud.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.