Who is Lady Louise Windsor? The carriage-driving royal who had a tough start in life celebrates her 20th birthday today
- The unassuming royal was protected from the spotlight growing up
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Daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Lady Louise Windsor has mostly been shielded from the public gaze.
But she is dear to the heart of the Royal Family and was particularly close to her late grandparents, having been described as a ‘favourite’ of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
The 20-year-old, who celebrates her birthday today, is still an undergraduate at St Andrew’s University, where she studies English.
Although not yet a front-line royal, she has been more prominent in recent years and was one of the youngest and freshest faces at the Coronation in May.
Prince Edward’s eldest child, Lady Louise Windsor celebrates her 20th birthday today. The daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Louise has followed her grandfather Prince Philip in taking up carriage driving
Timothy Laurence, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and Lady Louise Windsor attend the National Service of Thanksgiving for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at St Paul’s Cathedral in June 2022
Prince Edward and Sophie pose with their children, James, Earl of Wessex and Lady Louise as they take part in the Great British Beach Clean in Southsea, in September 2020
Born in 2003 to Edward, Queen Elizabeth’s youngest child, and his wife, Sophie, Lady Louise had a difficult start in life.
Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor arrived prematurely at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, England, on November 8.
Her mother, then Countess of Wessex, went into labour when 36 weeks pregnant – a week or so short of what is considered full-term.
At the time, Prince Edward was a 12-hour flight away in Mauritius on an official visit.
Medics realised she needed an emergency caesarean. She was showing signs of acute placental abruption, in which the lining separates from the uterus.
The moment Louise was born, weighing just 4lb 9oz, she was rushed to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, for special care.
According to the Mail On Sunday in 2014, Sophie had lost so much blood she was just 15 minutes from death.
It was said to have taken a major blood transfusion before she regained any kind of stability.
The Duchess of Wessex, as she then was, had to remain at Frimley Park alone as Edward was unable to get back to Britain until the following evening.
Louise was born with esotropia, a condition that turns the eyes outwards, and faced difficulties with her vision growing up.
She underwent her first eye procedure at just 18 months, but the procedure was unsuccessful and Lady Louise had to undergo a second attempt in 2014. This time the surgeons succeeded.
Louise was baptised in the private chapel at Windsor with godparents including Lady Sarah Chatto and Lord Ivar Mountbatten.
She brought a great sense of personal pride for Prince Philip as she became the first royal to officially carry the surname Mountbatten-Windsor – allowing Philip’s surname, Mountbatten, to continue into the Royal family’s future.
A former aide said Philip would be ‘thrilled’ that, 55 years after the birth of his first child, a member of the Firm would finally be carrying on the Mountbatten line.
In 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, followed suit, naming their first child Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
And while many royal watchers noted her similarity to the Queen at the same age, it was through her grandfather, the late Duke of Edinburgh, that she discovered her passion for carriage driving.
Following his retirement, Philip had more time to enjoy carriage driving, which was one of his favourite past-times since the 1970s. He raced carriages near Norfolk before going on to represent Britain at several world and European championships.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex hold their new daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, for a Christmas photo in 2003. She had been born prematurely the previous November
A family portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Back row: Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex; Middle row: Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips; Prince Louis; Front row: Mia Tindall; Lucas Tindall, Her Majesty The Queen and Savannah Phillips
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Lady Louise Windsor and Kate Middleton watching the Royal Air Force fly past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping The Colour in 2012
The Queen and Lady Louise at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in Home Park in 2018
The Duchess of Edinburgh and her daughter Louise during the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2019
Duchess Sophie previously revealed that Prince Philip was ‘so pleased’ when his granddaughter wanted to take up the sport.
‘My father-in-law was always so good at encouraging, he was really encouraging of Louise.
So when she not only said “please can I have a go”, but then showed a flair for it, he was just brilliant with her,’ she said
Louise paid tribute to her grandfather’s legacy by taking part in a carriage-driving event in April 2022, on the weekend of the anniversary of his death.
Louise was able to see more of her grandparents growing than her older cousins, Princes William and Harry as the family home was just 11 miles from Windsor.
Also the Queen and Prince Philip had more free time as by then they had scaled back their long-haul travel.
Louise, their seventh grandchild, has been allowed to use style Her Royal Highness since the age of 18 – a privilege she has so far turned down.
Edward and Sophie wanted to give their daughter and son James, Earl of Wessex, 15, as normal childhood as possible, including school friends and extra-curricular activities.
Largely kept out of the limelight, her first major Royal outing came at the age of nine when she was a bridesmaid at the Prince and Princess of Wales’s wedding in 2011.
More recently, Louise was given an important role in another royal wedding: she and her brother James were both special attendants at Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018.
She has since joined her parents on a number of outings since the Edinburgh’s found themselves thrust into the spotlight following the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2020 and Prince Andrew’s subsequent withdrawal from public life.
She was front and centre in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, joined her parents at the Commonwealth Games and made her successful TV debut in a documentary about her beloved grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh.
Lady Louise went to St George’s School, Windsor Castle, before moving to secondary school at St Mary’s School Ascot where she studied Politics, English, History and Drama at A Level.
Last year, it emerged that Louise had worked part-time at a garden centre over the summer earning £6.63 per hour before heading to university that autumn .
She helped out on the tills, greeting customers, pruning and potting plants.
Yet, Louise started at St Andrews in September 22, just two days before the death of her grandmother the Queen. She travelled north to Balmoral to be with the rest of the Royal Family.
Prince Harry and bridesmaid Lady Louise Windsor departing the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in April 2011
Prince Edward and his family as they travel in a horse-drawn carriage during Trooping The Colour, the Queen’s annual birthday parade, in June 2022
The grandchildren of the late Queen arrive to hold a vigil around her coffin in Westminster Hall, at the Palace of Westminster in London on September 17, 2022, ahead of her funeral
Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh arriving with Lady Louise and the Earl of Wessex at the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6
Lady Louise Windsor, the Duchess of Edinburgh and James attend the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on May 7
A few days later, Louise and James joined the rest of their cousins to stand vigil around Queen Elizabeth’s coffin.
On May 6, she attended King Charles’s coronation with her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
She was much praised for her appearance, wearing her blonde hair in a wavy blow dry.
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