Lady Louise Windsor will attend university where Kate and William met after receiving A-level results
Lady Louise Windsor will follow in the footsteps of her relatives and attend St Andrews University, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The 18-year-old royal will study English at the prestigious educational institution in Scotland where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met. Kate studied history of art and William geography.
Lady Louise was among the hundreds of thousands of British students who received their A-level results today. She, like many others, will begin her course in September. Her results have not been revealed but St Andrews is one of the UK's top universities and holds very high entry requirements.
Read more: What the royals got in their A-level results, including Prince Harry and Kate Middleton
When was Lady Louise born?
Louise Windsor was born prematurely at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey on 8 November, 2003.
Her father Prince Edward was in Mauritius when she was born, as he had not expected pregnant Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, to give birth so soon.
Sophie had to have an emergency Caesarean because of placental abruption, and both mother and daughter lost blood.
Louise was transferred to St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, south London, but Sophie was kept in Frimley Park to recover.
The royal baby had a fortnight of hospital care before finally going home, to Bagshot Park, on 23 November.
Her name was announced another four days after that. Her full name is Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor.
What is her title and is she in line to the throne?
As the granddaughter of the Queen, Louise is entitled to be known as Princess Louise.
Her cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie, are known as princesses.
However, Edward and Sophie opted not to have Louise and her younger brother James styled as Her or His Royal Highness.
Instead, she has the styling of a daughter of an earl, which is why she is known as Lady Louise Windsor.
All of the Queen’s descendants are in line to inherit the throne. Louise is currently 13th in line.
Read more: Who are Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex?
Why did she have surgery as a child?
Louise was born with an eye condition called esotropia, a condition which causes one or both eyes to turn inward. It’s sometimes referred to as lazy eye.
According to Debrett’s she had surgery in January 2006, when she was two, to correct the condition, but it was not successful.
While a second operation has never been commented on by Buckingham Palace, there was evidence in 2014 that she’d had more successful surgery.
The Daily Telegraph said there was evidence of an operation after Lady Louise attended a racing event in December 2010.
Where does she live and what do her parents do?
The Wessexes live in Bagshot Park, which is Surrey, set in Windsor Great Park. They’re close to the Queen when she is in Windsor Castle.
The house and accompanying 51 acres has a varied history, and was once the home of Prince Arthur, one of Queen Victoria’s sons. It has also been a war-time hospital and a Chaplains’ depot.
Edward and Sophie have lived there since 1999, when they got married. They did not immediately go into full time royal work, but were brought in to support the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year in 2002.
Sophie said of living so close to the Queen: “We’re a lot more fortunate because we live so much closer to the Queen.
“So, when she spends a lot of time at Windsor at weekends, our children are more fortunate because they can go over and have tea with her on a regular basis.
“We’re over there most weekends riding, so she sees quite a lot of us - lucky her!”
Where does she go to school?
Louise went to St George’s School, Windsor Castle, and then moved to St Mary’s School in Ascot, Berkshire, from Year 9.
She is understood to have stayed at the Ascot school for her A-levels.
Will she be a working royal?
It’s unlikely that Louise will ever carry out working royal duties, even though her parents do.
Charles, her uncle, is said to be keen to slim down the monarchy, and so he will probably not be recruiting more people to full time royal life when he becomes king.
Her older cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie, have full time jobs, so that will probably be the same for Louise and her brother James.
Edward and Sophie have been preparing Louise for life in the working world rather than as a senior royal.
Sophie told The Sunday Times: “We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living. Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”
What public appearances has she made?
Louise was a bridesmaid for Kate Middleton when she married Prince William in 2011.
The two seem to have a special bond too, as the Duchess of Cambridge was seen chatting away to Louise during the London Paralympics in 2012, when the family attended together.
Kate has also been spotted next to Louise on the balcony for Trooping the Colour.
Louise also attends racing events with her family.
Louise and James have been on a royal tour abroad too, accompanying their parents to South Africa in 2015.
In 2018, Louise joined her mother on an engagement in Portsmouth, as she met girls working toward a yachting qualification. That same year she went to the final of the Women’s Hockey World Cup, again with her mother.
She was a special attendant for Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank, and helped look after the pageboys and bridesmaids.
Louise and Sophie watched Strictly Come Dancing from the audience as a special treat for her 15th birthday in 2018.
Louise was a regular fixture during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June, too and attended the 2022 Commonwealth Games with her parents and brother.
What are Louise’s hobbies?
Louise is a keen horse rider, a passion shared by many in the Royal Family and has taken up carriage driving, a sport her grandfather, Prince Philip, had a hand in popularising.
She came third in the Private Driving Singles carriage drive event at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 2019.
She’s also a girl guide.
