Lady Louise Windsor photographed at Church, in April 2021.Getty
The late Queen Elizabeth and her granddaughter had a very special bond.
Lady Louise Windsor, the eldest child of Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, is the granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II. She was born on November 8, 2003, and reportedly had a very strong relationship with her late grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who shared a passion for carriage driving.
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A royal insider told The Sun in 2019 revealed that Lady Louise was considered the Queen's favorite grandchild: “The Queen loves the fact that Louise and James relish their time at Balmoral, and she has become particularly close to Louise, who seems to have become her favourite grandchild, closely followed by James."
“Louise also endeared herself to everyone by looking after William and Kate’s children when they were up here.
“Louise loves drawing and sketching and was very patiently trying to get Charlotte to do pictures of rabbits and deer.”
They continued: “Because of her obvious artistic skill, the Queen allowed Louise to look through some of the collection of Queen Victoria’s Highlands sketches which are kept at Balmoral but are rarely dug out these days.”
Prince Harry and Lady Louise Windsor ride in a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace following the marriage of Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Given that Lady Louise and her brother James stay largely out of the spotlight what do we need to know about the young royal?
She was born prematurely
Lady Louise was born prematurely on November 8, 2003. Her mother, Sophie of Wessex was rushed to hospital and gave birth one month early. Prince Edward was not present at the birth as he was in Mauritius at the time.
Due to being born early, Lady Louise was born with complications including placental abruption and esotropia - an eye condition.
Her eye condition inspired her mother to campaign for charity
Lady Louise was born with esotropia, a condition that turns the eye outwards. She underwent her first surgery at just 18 months, which was unsuccessful, so Lady Louise underwent a second procedure in 2014 which corrected her vision. Having a child with a sight condition, inspired Sophie of Wessex to campaign for vision charities. She is also an ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
Lady Louise Windsor, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, James, Viscount Severn, Prince Michael of Kent, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Princess Anne, Princess Royal wave after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Andrew Milligan - WPA/Getty Images)
"Premature babies can often have squints because the eyes are the last thing in the baby package to really be finalized," Countess Sophie told The Sunday Express of her daughter's eye condition. "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," she added.
Louise and her brother were born before the Succession to the Crown Act
In 2013, the Succession to the Crown Act was passed which officially ended the centuries-old rule that male offspring take precedence over females. The Act was passed in 2013 and applied to those born after October 28, 2011, which explains why James Viscount Severn (who was born in 2007) remains 14th in line despite being younger than his sister, who is 15th.
* Originally published in Sep 2019. Updated in 2022.
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