When we think of the royal family, we typically think of those we see the most on TV.
But what about the others? One such elusive royal is seventeen-year-old Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth
Mary Mountbatten-Windsor. We did some digging so we could let you in on her untold truths.
Queen Elizabeth has eight grandchildren, ranging from their forties all the way down
to their teens. Some of the queen's most high-profile grandchildren include Prince
William and Prince Harry, but it's Louise who has a special place in the queen's heart.
As noted by The Sun, Louise is reportedly Elizabeth's favorite grandchild,
given their common interests, their summers spent together,
and Louise's kind nature. A royal insider told the publication:
"The queen loves the fact that Louise and [younger brother James, Viscount Severn]
relish their time at Balmoral, and she has become particularly close to Louise."
Louise reportedly stepped up to the babysitting plate - like all good older cousins do - when
Princess Charlotte visited the queen. Louise apparently has a talent for drawing,
and she extended her time and patience to encourage the little princess to draw while
she visited her great-grandmother. The gesture clearly made a big impact on the monarch,
who looks very favorably on her granddaughter.
The royal family is known for its collective interest in hobbies such as horse riding,
polo, and hunting, and it looks as though Lady Louise Windsor has followed suit. According to
Woman & Home, she is an excellently-skilled carriage driver and has carved quite the
space for herself within the activity. Her mother, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, spoke
about her daughter's skillset during a virtual appearance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show:
"To actually participate in the horse show you know,
has been a really special thing for her to do."
Sophie said that her daughter's skillset is a natural talent and
that she absolutely outshines the rest of the family. Sophie said:
"I trail in her wake frankly. No, she is naturally so good at it,
she really is. It's something that she has taken to very well."
School, however, did get in the way of Louise's passion. Sophie revealed
that Louise took a break from carriage driving to carve out time for studying,
which kept her away from the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The show was canceled due to
the coronavirus pandemic, so it turned out that Louise didn't miss out on much.
There is something to be said about the bond between a granddaughter and grandfather, and,
as Cosmopolitan noted, Lady Louise Windsor and the late Prince Philip were very close.
The two shared a number of passions, namely their interest in horses.
Philip was often seen at Louise's equestrian events, just as he was for his daughter,
Princess Anne, and the two seemed to share a very special bond. Philip died in April 2021,
and, as such, left a number of touching gifts to his young granddaughter.
According to Cosmopolitan, Philip left his two Fell horses, Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm,
to Louise. In addition, he gifted her his own four-wheeled carriage, the same carriage used
during his funeral procession. Philip often used the carriage while he stayed at Windsor Castle.
His choice to leave such an item to her has been interpreted by some as his subtle way
of encouraging her pursuits. Since the carriage was used during Philip's funeral to carry his
cap and gloves, it's safe to say that it was an incredibly special gift for Louise to receive.
Royal births are a big deal, there's no doubt about it. It seemed like
the entire world was on edge when Kate Middleton was expecting her first child,
Prince George, with Prince William. But things weren't so planned and expected when
Lady Louise Windsor was born to Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Prince Edward.
As noted by the BBC, Louise was born a month early and weighed just under five pounds.
As it turned out, Sophie was experiencing intense cramps at home and called an
ambulance to take her to the hospital. Louise was born via emergency c-section,
and was immediately taken to Frimley Park Hospital's neonatal unit.
"I've seen Sophie, she's doing well. She's also had a bit of a
fraught time with it, but she's recovering well, I'm glad to say."
Because the baby was born so early and under such unexpected circumstances,
Edward wasn't even there. As reported by the BBC,
he was on an official trip to Mauritius and quickly made plans to travel home.
It was quite the unexpected delivery, and both Sophie and Louise - who were described
as stable at the time - stayed in the hospital "as a precaution." Talk about an entrance.
If you're confused when it comes to royal titles, you're not alone. There seem to be a lot of rules
and protocols to follow regarding royal titles, but a lot of it comes down to personal preference.
There's been some debate over Lady Louise Windsor's royal title and if she'll ever
be referred to as Her Royal Highness. As noted by Express, Louise's parents opted
out of using HRH titles, as they wanted their children to have as normal lives as possible,
with Sophie once noting that both children are, quote, "very likely to have to work for a living."
However, Express reported that the decision to adopt the HRH title will soon be left up to Louise herself.
By the time she turns 18, she can opt to use the HRH title if she so chooses. Nonetheless,
even her mother thinks that it'll be a stretch for her daughter to use it. Sophie said:
"I think it's highly unlikely."
Since Louise turns 18 in November 2021, time will tell.
As aforementioned, Lady Louise Windsor was born a month premature. As such,
she developed a condition called strabismus, which impacted her ability to see. As noted by Express,
if the condition is not treated, it can result in what is referred to as "lazy eye," where the brain
starts to ignore signals from the eyes. Louise's diagnosis inspired her mother, Sophie, Countess
of Wessex, to get involved, and she has since advocated for children who are visually impaired.
As a child, Louise reportedly had a very impactful squint,
though her vision has improved with time. Sophie said:
"Her squint was quite profound when she was tiny and it takes time to correct it.
You've got to make sure one eye doesn't become more dominant than the other,
but she's fine now - her eyesight is perfect."
It remains unclear whether Louise's condition fixed itself with time,
or if she had an operation to correct it. Nevertheless, it has inspired her mother
to advocate for those who have the same condition and similar vision difficulties.
Some aspects of the royal family, and the institution at large, are quite archaic,
and, until it was amended, the rule that a younger brother would circumvent his older
sister in the line of succession was enforced. As such, although Lady Louise Windsor is older
than her brother, James, he is ahead of her in the line of succession to the British throne.
As noted by Hello!, The Succession to the Crown Act, which halted the gender-based rule,
was not implemented until 2013, after both Louise and James were born. The act states that all royal
family members born after October 28, 2011, would benefit - leaving Louise out of the loop,
so to speak. The act, at one point, was of heightened importance, as Princess Charlotte
was not overtaken by her younger brother, Prince Louis, in the line of succession after he was born.
And she's not the only young royal to have benefitted from the act. Zara Tindall's daughters,
Mia and Lena, also maintained their positions, even after their younger brother, Lucas, was born.
Unfortunately, Louise was born too early - before the cutoff date - to benefit from the
act. As heirs are born, she will unfortunately continue to move down the line of succession.
The world often sees Prince William and Kate Middleton's kids, who are all direct heirs
to the British throne. But the children of Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex,
Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, are rarely seen in the spotlight.
As Express noted, this could be directly linked to Edward and Sophie's wish for privacy. Even
though Louise is almost 18 years old, she is only ever really seen during official royal events.
Edward has spoken about his desire to keep his kids out of the headlines - as
his importance in the royal family increases,
the chances of Louise and James being available for scrutiny also increases.
After analyzing the dynamic between Sophie and her parents, body language expert Judi James said:
"This desire to protect his children's privacy might sound natural, but given Sophie and his
current elevation through the ranks of the Firm and their much higher profile as a result,
it could be a personal challenge for Edward to ensure that any desire for privacy is respected."
Still, that privacy is certainly currently being extended to Louise, who is often only ever seen
with one of her parents. Time will tell if the media and paparazzi end up finding a
way to circumvent Edward's efforts to shield her from the public eye as she gets older.
Even if you don't consider yourself a fan of the royal family, you most likely know
about the drama from a couple years back. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
have made a name for themselves as they've aired royal dirty laundry,
Prince Andrew is consistently under fire for his alleged connections to Jeffery Epstein.
"I've never really felt the need to go and party. And certainly, going to
Jeffrey's was not about partying."
Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles are experiencing more and more pushback - you can
thank Season 4 of "The Crown" for that. So, it doesn't come as a huge surprise
to find out that Queen Elizabeth sees Lady Louise Windsor as a huge asset,
mostly due to her calm demeanor, dedication, and kind nature.
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told Express that Louise, quote,
"has shown in the past she can handle gracefully difficult situations,"
a trait that is sure to come in handy. She also said, pointing to a situation at
Princess Eugenie's wedding in which Louise took charge of the little bridesmaids:
"She has always been an asset to the family and very polite which the Queen loves."
The public has had plenty of opportunities to see the Wessex family interact with each other.
As such, body language expert Judi James shared her thoughts with Express regarding
the dynamic between Louise and her mother, Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
As Louise has gotten older, Sophie has reportedly taken a couple steps back,
in order for her daughter to branch out on her own. This is shown in her body language
toward the teenager and is an aspect of their relationship that James picked up on. James said:
"Sophie's confidence signals show her as being the more socially active one in the team dynamic. Her
encouraging and proud smile is teamed with the kind of spatial gap you'd get between friends
[...] This allows Sophie's daughter to be seen and to feel like a confident adult in public."
James also highlighted the smiles that are often cast between Sophie and Louise,
assessing that the pair shares a friendship as well as a mother-daughter bond. Additionally,
James suggested that Sophie knows how to avoid being "overprotective" of Louise,
and is happy to let her strike out on her own.
The term "royal family" doesn't exactly allow for a lot of normalcy. When you think about it,
it's a little weird for the world to know everything that a family says or does,
regardless of whether they're part of one of the most high-profile institutions. But a keen
eye on privacy is something that Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are keyed into.
As such, they have done everything they can to give Lady Louise Windsor a normal life.
Sophie shared an update with The Sunday Times Magazine on Louise,
opening up about how ordinary her day-to-day life is. Sophie said:
"[Louise and James] go to a regular school. They go to friends for sleepovers
and parties. [On] weekends, we do lots of dog walking and stay with friends."
Sophie went on to share that, when Louise is with the queen, she isn't
with the ruler of the Commonwealth, but, instead, with her grandmother.
It's safe to say that Louise has absolutely benefitted from her parents' family values
and lifestyle. We're excited to see what this royal accomplishes in the future.
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