She’s the daughter of a prince, the niece of a king, the granddaughter of a queen, but Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor was never considered a significant player in the monarchy – until now.
No one expected hers to be the first face crowds saw at Trooping the Colour over the weekend, but the 20-year-old royal was front and centre when the first horse-drawn carriages left Buckingham Palace.
Watch the video above.
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And when King Charles III took to the balcony hours later with only a select number of key royals at his side, she was among them.
Cameras flashed and shutters clicked as photographers raced to capture the moment, which lasted just a few minutes but may mark the start of a new chapter for Louise, who was often described as the favourite granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
Born to Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh in 2003, Louise was legally a princess (as the child of the son of the reigning monarch), but her parents opted not to give her a royal title.
Instead, they wanted her and younger brother James, Earl of Wessex to have the chance at a normal, private life away from the royal spotlight.
“We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living. Hence, we made the decision not to use HRH titles,” Sophie told The Sunday Times in 2020.
At 18, Louise was given the chance to adopt the title of Her Royal Highness and style herself formally as a princess, but elected to remain untitled.
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Royal watchers took it as a sign the young royal intended to pursue the private life her parents had envisioned for her, especially in the face of King Charles’ plan for a “slimmed down” monarchy when he was crowned in 2023.
With a new focus on senior working royals, it seemed there would be no significant place Louise in the King’s royal lineup.
That is, until she stepped out into the sunshine on Buckingham Palace’s balcony on Saturday, June 15 just three places away from the monarch himself.
It’s the first time she’s appeared at the annual event since her grandmother’s reign, as the late Queen used to invite the entire extended royal family to join her on the balcony.
Now it’s a much more exclusive occasion, with invites reserved for working royals only, so could this mean Louise is about to step into a new position in the monarchy?
She’s currently two years into her studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where her cousin Prince William famously met his now-wife Catherine, Princess of Wales.
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However, there’s a chance the young royal may be offered the opportunity to follow in her parents’ footsteps as a working member of the monarchy once she’s finished her degree.
The upper echelon of the royal family is aging rapidly, with only three senior working royals currently under the age of 60; the Prince and Princess of Wales, 41 and 42 respectively, and the Duchess of Edinburgh, 59.
The remaining working royals are all in their 60s, 70s or 80s and royal expert Dickie Arbiter himself has called the monarchy “an aging institution”.
As such, the King and those closest to him will soon be looking to the next generation of royals to step up and take on more responsibilities as people like the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, 79 and 77 respectively, and the Duke of Kent, 88, retire from public life.
William has already looked to his cousins Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips for support at royal engagements, so will Lady Louise be the next addition to the new royal roster?
Though she may not become a senior working royal, her appearance at Trooping the Colour this weekend has royal watchers willing to bet that we’ll be seeing more of her in the months ahead.
The 20-year-old also made subtle nods to her uncle, the King, and her mother, a long-serving working royal in her own right, with her outfit for the occasion.
She rewore an elegant floral Suzannah London dress she last wore at the King’s coronation on May 6, 2023, and a bespopke Jane Taylor hat her mother wore to Royal Ascot last year.
If Louise does decide to step up into a more senior position in the monarchy during her uncle’s reign, she will learn from some of the best in the business; her own parents.
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As the third son of the late queen, Edward has been a working royal for decades and wife Sophie has been serving the crown at his side since their wedding in 1999.
Though they originally envisioned a “normal” life for their only daughter, there’s no doubt that they would support Louise if His Majesty tapped her for more royal responsibilities in the months and years to come, or perhaps even a position as a working royal one day.
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