For most women, a marriage proposal is a priceless memory that they will look back on fondly for the rest of their life.

But when Agne Banuskeviciute said yes to her husband-to-be while on stage at her graduation ceremony, it sparked a Twitter storm that quickly overshadowed the couple’s romantic milestone.

Edgaras Averbuchas, 27, was accused of “bad form" after he proposed to his girlfriend of nine years as she was receiving her Masters degree in English language from the University of Essex.

The gesture, which was filmed and posted online to celebrate their engagement, prompted a backlash from feminists who accused him of “hijacking" her special day because he is "threatened by her intellect".

Despite the 25-year-old's joy at the marriage proposal, Essex University have since been forced to remove the clip due to the heavy criticism it has received.

Dr Jana Bacevic, a research associate in sociology at the University of Cambridge, wrote on Twitter: "Imagine being a man and feeling so threatened by a woman's intellectual success that you *have* to force her to frame her identity/agency in relation to *you* on the very day she is being celebrated for her intellect.

"Oh wait, that's, like, 99.9 per cent men."