Lady Louise Windsor is by no means the most famous royal of her generation – after all, she has to contend with the likes of Catherine, Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
But through the years this 20-year-old English rose has proven time and again that she’s not one to be underestimated.
Having inherited beauty and poise from her mother Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and good humour (as well as blue blood!) from her father Prince Edward, it should come as no surprise that Louise is already making a name for herself.
Born in 2003, the young royal made her global debut when she was just eight years old at Prince William’s wedding in 2011, serving as a bridesmaid to new cousin Catherine.
While she carries no HRH title and her parents have raised her and brother James, Count of Wessex away from the spotlight, Louise is widely regarded as a royal up-and-comer.
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“We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living,” Sophie told the Sunday Times.
Now that she’s an adult, Louise is joining her parents for more royal outings than ever and we can’t get enough of her.
Keep scrolling to see all her best moments through the years.
The young royal played a big part in the 2024 Trooping the Colour parade, riding in the first carriage and also appearing on the balcony alongside senior working royals.
Though she and James won’t be working royals, meaning they will need to pursue careers of their own, we can expect to see more of them in the coming years.
Stepping out that same year, Louise wowed royal fans by how much she had grown up and blossomed into a true English rose.
In 2022 she and brother James appeared for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Louise wore a hat and Jacket Sophie donned for her daughter’s first Buckingham Palace balcony appearance decades earlier (see the third slide in this gallery).
Louise’s love of carriage riding comes from her late grandfather, Prince Philip. “The Duke of Edinburgh has been so involved in my driving which has been lovely… it’s incredible to have learned first-hand from him and definitely made us closer,” she said.
When she turned 18, Louise technically had the option to adopt an HRH title – provided the Queen approved the change – but chose not to.
“It was only when she was coming home from school and saying, ‘Mummy, people keep on telling me that grandma is the queen.’,” Sophie said. “And I asked her, ‘Yes, how does that make you feel?’ And she said, ‘I don’t understand…’ I don’t think she had grasped that perhaps there was only one Queen.”
It’s hard to believe, but Louise didn’t know her grandmother was the Queen until she started school.
It’s understood that the royal mother-daughter duo also share an incredibly close relationship. Speaking of her approach to parenting Louise and brother James, Sophie once said: “If they’ve had as normal a start in life they possibly can get, then hopefully that will stand them in good stead.”
The resemblance is impossible to deny in photos like this.
It’s widely agreed that Louise inherited her mother’s good looks, taking after Sophie in both her features and colouring.
Away from royal life, Louise got to enjoy activities like zoo visits and family holidays with her parents.
From an early age, Louise was taking style cues from her fashionable mother.
She has also made several appearances at Sandringham for royal Christmas holidays over the years.
Though she had a relatively ‘normal’ childhood, Louise has always had the poise and graces of a proper little royal.
She rode in a carriage with cousin Prince Harry, confidently waving to the crowds as they passed.
Louise made her big royal debut in 2011 at William and Catherine’s royal wedding, where she was a bridesmaid. Can you spot her next to Pippa Middleton?
Louise had a squint as a child due to her premature arrival, Sophie once explaining: “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.”
And a normal childhood includes ice cream!
The pair were devoted to giving Louise as normal a childhood as possible, as proved by this snap from 2010.
When Sophie and Edward married in 1999, they decided they wanted their future children to lead a normal life – opting to drop “HRH” titles, which is why Louise has the title “Lady.”
Though she’s the Queen’s granddaughter and had the right to an HRH title, Sophie and Edward chose not to use it for Louise.
Edward was absent for his daughter’s birth, as he was on an official visit to Mauritius at the time. Sophie recalled in 2019: “My daughter, Louise, was born prematurely and so every time I see anything to do with premature babies it takes me back to those early days.”
Lady Louise Windsor arrived four weeks premature via emergency caesarean after Sophie was rushed to hospital. The Countess of Wessex came close to death after losing more than five litres of blood to internal bleeding. Fortunately both mother and daughter came through.
