All About Queen Elizabeth's Youngest Granddaughter, Lady Louise Windsor

She was born 8th in line to the British throne.

Despite Kate Middleton’s position as the most watched—and, arguably, most beloved—member of the royal family, another cousin of the Firm has recently stepped into public view: Lady Louise Windsor. Born 8th in line to the British throne, the youngest granddaughter of the late Queen is now 16th in line, and, thus, unlikely to be crowned anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean the royal hasn’t garnered any public attention. On the contrary, the 21-year-old has made a number of notable appearances as of late, and seems to be poised to become a significant social figure in her own right. Ahead, everything you should know about Britain’s rising star, Lady Louise Windsor.

Her mom almost died giving birth.

Lady Louise was born premature on November 8, 2003, at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, England to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son) and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. It was a chaotic delivery, to say the least: Sophie was rushed there in an ambulance, and later on, it was revealed that she had almost died during childbirth. According to the Daily Mail, Sophie “was reportedly just 15 minutes away from dying in the emergency room" and lost "nine pints of blood through internal bleeding." The cause? An acute placental abruption, which can be fatal due to extreme blood loss. Louise was delivered via emergency C-section and weighed just 4 lbs 9 ozs.

She was born with an eye condition.

As a result of her premature birth, Louise was born with esotropia, a rare eye condition that causes the eyes to look in different directions. She underwent a correctional surgery when she was 18 months old, however it was unsuccessful. In 2013 she had a second surgery that fixed the condition.

Though she now has “perfect vision,” according to her mother, Louise’s former condition continues to inspire the family’s charity work; Sophie is a patron of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, as well as a global ambassador for Vision 2020, an initiative launched by the IAPB to eliminate blindness worldwide.

She's a carriage driver.

In typical royal fashion, Louise has a rather old-fashioned hobby: carriage driving. According to the Tatler, she inherited her love of driving from her grandfather, the late Prince Philip.

“She is naturally so good at it, she really is,” Sophie said in a 2020  interview. “It’s something that she has taken to very well.”

Louise most recently competed in the British Carriage Driving National Championships in September 2024, which took place just before her 21st birthday. Before that, she won a silver medal at the Sandringham Horse Driving Trials in June.

She was a flower girl for Prince William and Kate Middleton.

In addition to appearing at a number of important royal engagements, Louise played a key role in perhaps the most important engagement of them all: Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. As one of four flower girls, she joined the likes of Grace Van Cutsem and Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones (both pictured above) to participate in the historic nuptials, which took place at Westminster Abbey under the watchful eye of 1,900 guests.

She's a student at St. Andrew's University.

But she isn't just studying English literature—she's also fallen in love with a fellow student, Felix da Silva-Clamp. And, despite her proximity to the British throne, she apparently maintains a rather normal college existence.

“She works a student job during the week, in the canteen, and she takes part in a lot of student theatre productions,” a fellow student said. “She’s really grounded. Whenever I see her, she’s wearing understated clothes—you literally wouldn’t know at all that she’s a member of the royal family.”

St. Andrew's, of course, is also where Prince William and Kate Middleton met, fell in love, and began their world-famous relationship. Only time will tell if Louise will follow in their footsteps, however.