Horse-mad Lady Louise at the Royal Windsor Horse Show (Image: Getty)
She has grown up largely out of the royal spotlight. A firm favourite of her late grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, she quietly worked her way through university supporting herself with a part-time job at a garden centre.
Something of a Tom Boy she prefers horses and the military to fashion and the London party scene, possibly because of her quiet, solid upbringing away from the capital.
Her parents Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie are currently two of the busiest members of the Royal Family, carrying out engagements around the world on behalf of Edward’s brother, King Charles.
And there is much speculation about whether their eldest daughter, Lady Louise, will take on a more formal royal role one day.
“Lady Louise and (her brother) James have been raised by Edward and Sophie with real care and quiet dignity,” says royal author Robert Jobson who wrote ‘The Windsor Legacy’.
Lady Louise with her family at a thanksgiving service for the late Duke of Edinburgh (Image: Getty)
Lady Louise being driven with her mother Sophie Wessex to a royal Christmas lunch (Image: Getty)
“Louise has shown genuine poise. She handled the death of her grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, with a maturity beyond her years.
“James is still finding his way, as any young man does. But if they follow their parents’ example, they will be a quiet but genuine asset to the Crown.
“Edward and Sophie have become the gold standard for what a supporting royal looks like and I would expect their children to follow that template.”
Lady Louise, a student at St Andrew’s University, has already proven herself to be quietly hard-working and down-to-earth.
She previously worked a summer job at a local garden centre to earn extra money.
She has also participated in the University Officers’ Training Corps (UOTC) and holds the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army Reserve and is believed to be keen on a military career.
Lady Louise learnt to ride at a young age and took up up carriage driving, a sport popularised by her late grandfather, Prince Philip.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams believes Lady Louise will definitely play a significant royal role in the future.
He said: “Lady Louise is widely tipped to have a high-profile role although less so her brother James who we know very little about and who is clearly being protected from the royal glare while he is still at school.
“Lady Louise’s interest in a career in the military and her love of carriage driving, clearly make her a good fit for a future royal role.”
Lady Louise and her younger brother James, Earl of Wessex at Sandringham (Image: Getty)
Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor was born on November 8, 2003 and is the youngest niece of King Charles. She was born during the reign of her paternal grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and at the time of her birth was eighth in the line of sucession. Today she is 17th.
Born via emergency caesarian section, she has the condition esotrophia, where one or both of the eyes turns inwards. Louise underwent an operation in 2006 in an unsuccessful attempt to correct the condition.
She attended St Mary’s School and chose English, history, politics and drama as her A-level subjects. While at school, she took part in The Duke of Edinburgh Award and began studying English at the University of St Andrews in September 2022.
In 2024, Louise joined the British Army’s University Officers’ Training Corps and as of 2025, she holds the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army Reserve.
Her younger brother James, who turned 18 last December, made his first official appearance in the carriage procession at Trooping the Colour in 2016 and also took part in the 2022 Trooping the Colour.
In 2020, he joined his parents in supporting the Marine Conservation Society by taking part in the Great British Beach Clean at Southsea Beach in Hampshire.
Currently studying for his A levels at Radley College, a private boys’ boarding school in Oxfordshire, he is expected to go to university later this year.
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