Lady Louise Windsor is one of several members of the royal family attending the Queen's state funeral at Westminster Abbey today.
The 18-year-old, whose full name is Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, is the grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II and is attending today's funeral alongside her parents Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and her younger brother James, Viscount Severn.
Louise is the niece of the new monarch, King Charles III, and the cousin of Princes Harry and William. Following the Queen's death, she is now is 15th in the line of succession to the British throne.
The second youngest of the Queen's eight grandchildren, she was a bridesmaid at William and Kate’s wedding in 2011 when she was just seven years old. She was also a special attendant at Princess Eugenie’s wedding in 2018, helping to escort the young bridesmaids and pageboys into the church.
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Louise in understood to be a big fan of the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing. In 2018, the young royal was spotted in the audience for the live shows alongside her mum Sophie. According to Strictly host Tess Daly, the trip to watch the dancers was part of a special birthday treat for Louise's 15th birthday.
Louise occasionally accompanies her parents at events, and attends royal celebrations such as Trooping the Colour. She was also present at the Platinum Jubilee festivities. Louise and her brother James participated in their first overseas engagement in April 2015, when they accompanied their parents on a trip to South Africa.
Last month, Buckingham Palace announced that Louise would be following in the footsteps of William and his wife Kate, Princess of Wales. The young royal will be attending St Andrew's university in Scotland, which is where her older cousin met his wife.
She achieved A-levels in English, history, politics and drama and will be studying English for her degree, which she is due to start in September. Her mother had previously spoken of her hopes that her daughter would go to university, describing her as “quite clever”.
Louise, who attended school in Ascot, Berkshire, will be expected to work for a living after she has achieved her degree. It is understood that she is unlikely to use the HRH style as an adult. Speaking about the decision, the Countess of Wessex said: “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.”
As the daughter of the son of the sovereign, Lady Louise is entitled to be known as Princess Louise. However, the earl and countess decided against this, choosing the courtesy titles of a child of an earl for their daughter and son instead.
Louise was born prematurely in November 2003, weighing just 4lb 9oz. At eight months pregnant, Sophie had an emergency c-section after she was rushed to hospital with severe internal pains, and doctors found she was dangerously ill from blood loss.
The new mum was separated from her newborn for six days after Louise was transferred to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, for specialist care, while the countess remained at Frimley Park Hospital.
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