Close encounters with members of the British Royal Family are rare, but what’s even rarer is having one of them provide you with an excuse for being late. Believe it or not, that happened to one girl when she met the charming Prince William — and footage of the encounter has gone viral on TikTok.
It happened when the future king visited Ulster University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His presence on campus had, somewhat predictably, garnered a lot of attention, resulting in several students losing track of time and running late for their lectures. In the case of a TikTok user named Samantha (username @samanthaj0hns0n), she took the opportunity to ask the Prince of Wales to record an excuse for her.
The 14-second clip shows Samantha asking the bearded William to speak on her behalf and to tell her lecturer, Leslie, why she and her friends didn’t arrive on time for her lecture. He duly obliges, saying, “Leslie, I’m very sorry we’re late, but they seem to be caught up.” What he says after doesn’t make much sense, as if he felt awkward or nervous (“They wouldn’t believe that you were here so just wanted to say hi”), but the sentiment was undoubtedly generous.
The clip gained millions of views and elicited thousands of responses on the popular video-sharing platform.
How did TikTok react?
Many people, including those who’d previously met Prince William, had lovely things to say about the 42-year-old. Comments praising him included things like “Ahhh! How gracious of Prince William,” “he is an icon,” “he seems so nice,” “William is such a legend #MyKing,” “he seems like such a chill guy,” and “I’ve met prince william and he’s the kindest person ever!!”
Users also pointed out that having Prince William vouch for you is the best excuse and that Leslie couldn’t reprimand Sam for being late after this. They said things like, “This is the king of all excuses,” “This is the best excuse for why you were late lol,” and “This is the best pardon ever.” In fact, when one person asked, “did it work,” Samantha replied, “Of course, even got to leave extra early.”
Others liked how William’s wording made it sound like he was also late for the lecture, writing things like “I love that he’s like “sorry we’re late” as if he was supposed to be meeting up with Leslie too,” “he said “we’re late” fella is coming with you,” and ““we’re late” DID HE COME WITH YOU.”
One person pointed out that the Royal Family is becoming less formal as it evolves into the 21st century. They said, “Interactions with royals are getting more and more unserious and I love that for them.”
According to an August 2024 survey of 2,020 people by Statista, overall support for the British monarch stands at 65% (25% would prefer an elected head of state, and 10% are unsure about what they think). If interactions between members of the public and members of the Royal Family continue to be as pleasant as this one with Prince William was, that percentage will surely increase in the coming years.
Published: Nov 18, 2024 07:16 am