The singer, 39, was scheduled to perform on the main stage on day two of the three day event at around 8pm.
After supposed issues ‘outside of her control’, the star was 15 minutes late for her set which many fans travelled miles to see.
Crowds were also heard chanting her name at the end of her set – after she was cut off before her setlist finale on Reading Festival’s main stage.
The American signer walked off stage and returned a few minutes later to applause from the audience, before she watched the firework show above the main stage.
Now Reading Festival has taken the blame for the set’s anti-climatic ending – claiming that the issue was an ‘accident’.
Following the furore, Reading Festival issued a statement, saying: “Due to an error by the production team we accidentally cut Lana Del Rey’s incredible set short by five minutes. We apologise unreservedly to Lana and her fans.”
The slot was the singer’s only UK festival headline appearance this year.
The set also suffered from poor audio throughout, with fans were heard chanting ‘turn it up, turn it up!’.
Sound coming from a nearby tent which was drowning out Lana’s sound on the main stage, according to some festival-goers.
One festivalgoer said: “Come to Reading to see Lana Del Ray and all I heard was a drum and bass tent ten times louder than her whole set.”
Another said that a lot of the area in front of the stage had ‘cleared out’ before the end of her set.