Photos That Prove Lady Louise Is Her Mom's Twin
It's not uncommon to hear people attributing both personality and physical characteristics to one of their parents: "He gets his brains from his mother" or "Look at that blonde hair! She's just like her father." Basic genetics tells us that children are, quite literally, miniature versions of their parents. Approximately half of a person's genetics come from their mother, while the other 50% comes from their father.
It's often the children of celebrities and other high-profile individuals who become the perfect illustration of just how powerful genetics can be. Whether it's Ava Phillipe, the daughter of actor Reese Witherspoon, walking red carpets looking like a clone of her mother, or David Beckham's sons looking like the spitting image of their famous soccer star father, the nature of growing up with a famous parent means that your resemblance to your mother or father will be noticed.
Across the pond, the British royal family are no different. One young royal who greatly resembles her mother is Lady Louise Windsor. The daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. Louise kept a low profile throughout her childhood and teenage years; however, now that the lady is a young adult, she has begun to make more public appearances with her royal parents, showing the world just how much she resembles her mother.
They both love a good print
Family resemblances can sometimes come out in the strangest of ways. Lady Louise and her mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, are no different from any other mother-daughter duo, who often mimic each other in the most minute of ways — including their ensembles.
While the public may not have access to the more private ways in which daughter matches mother, Louise and Sophie's similar fashion sense was on full display when the royals appeared at an event for the Commonwealth Games in August 2022. While visiting the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, Louise was caught accidentally twinning with her mother. Her father, Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, spoke to the crowd and smiled for the paparazzi while the most important women in his life stood by his side.
The mother-daughter duo silently illustrated their close bond by wearing coordinating outfits. The Duchess of Edinburgh wore a breezy, navy blue top and a floral patterned skirt in a white, black, and sky blue color scheme. Louise stunned in a sleeveless dress that also featured an abstract pattern of purple, navy, and light blue. Her dress, however, was also paired with a raspberry-colored waist belt. These two women chose a cool summertime aesthetic for this engagement.
Lady Louise and her mother mourned together
In September of 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died quietly in her family's Scottish estate, Balmoral. While she may have been an icon and a public figure to the rest of the world, to Lady Louise she was simply her grandmother. Only a few days after the queen's death, Louise was photographed attending a memorial church service at Balmoral Castle along with several other members of the royal family.
The then-18-year-old Louise was dressed conservatively in a black scoop-neck dress and heels. A crowd of photographers snapped her spending a few minutes to admire the flowers and read the tributes that had been left at the gates of Balmoral by royal well-wishers. Before heading into the castle proper, Louise and her family waved to the crowd of wellwishers that had gathered before them. While the event was a somber one, the British royal family appeared to be a united front.
One couldn't help but notice just how similar the mother and daughter looked. The duchess was dressed in a smart, black dress with quarter-length sleeves, echoing Louise's own mourning gown. The two also sported silver necklaces for the occasion, with Louise wearing one shaped into a heart and Sophie opting for a cross.
Pretty in pink
As a member of the British royal family, much of Lady Louise's life has revolved around her paternal grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. From carriage rides to church services, the summer of 2022 was no different, with the young royal's social calendar filled to the brim with engagements and ceremonies celebrating her grandmother's Platinum Jubilee — an international celebration of the queen's 70th year on the throne.
One such outing occurred on June 3, 2022, when Louise attended a National Service of Thanksgiving held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The young royal attended the church service alongside other members of the royal family, including her lookalike mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. The two blondes were seen leaving the famous British cathedral in matching blush pink hues and beaming smiles on their faces.
Both mother and daughter's garments were wisely chosen for the joyous summertime occasion. Louise wore a modest white dress with flowing sleeves and a V-cut neckline. Sophie wore a pale pink jacquard gown, boasting an intricate, ribbed texture. Both women also wore dangling gold necklaces. The finishing touches on both women were two matching fascinators. The younger royal wore a large, crystallized headband in a coral color, while her mother wore a similar pink fascinator with matching coral-colored details.
A day out on the carriage
While Lady Louise might be a chip off the old block, her late grandfather, Prince Philip, inspired one of her biggest passions — carriage driving. She's shown off her skills as a carriage driver many times over the years and more recently to the public in May 2022 at the Platinum Jubilee Royal Windsor Horse Show in celebration of her grandmother's 70th year on the throne.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was also a keen carriage driver, having rode often with her late father-in-law. The duchess is also no stranger to the stables as she was frequently seen riding before becoming the fully-fledged royal she is today. In 1999, the soon-to-be bride was photographed riding through Windsor Great Park on a dark horse next to her fiancé, Prince Edward. The photos show the future royal dressed in classic riding attire, an echo of the uniform worn by her future daughter.
Fast forward 19 years and the couple's eldest daughter was photographed smiling behind a horse-drawn carriage at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May of 2018. With their structured hats and blonde hair wrapped up in classy buns, mother and daughter looked just alike, even though the photos were taken years apart. Discussing their horsemanship skills in a 2020 interview, the Duchess of Edinburgh said, "I trail in her wake frankly. No, she is naturally so good at it, she really is. It's something that she has taken to very well" (via Hello!).
Giving back together
The family resemblance between Lady Louise and her mother is not only present when the two are dressed to the nines to attend royal engagements but can be seen even when the two are dressed in their casual fare. While they don't normally get the opportunity to show off their more down-to-earth style, the autumn of 2020 saw Louise and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, dressed down while attending the Great British Beach Clean on Southsea Beach.
The Great British Beach Clean is an initiative held for one week every September to encourage people to take to their local beaches and help clean up litter from along the coastlines. As high-profile representatives for the U.K., attending the Great British Beach Clean was a great way for Louise, Sophie, and the men in their brood to make the royal family's concern for beach sanitation and overall environmental health very clear to the public and the press.
Not only are mother and daughter clearly matched in their green-thinking ways, but photographs from the event show how similar the two are in their fashion. Dressed in identical light-wash blue jeans, dark shades, and simple white shoes, the mother-daughter appeared to be the spitting image of each other. Louise wore lace-up white sneakers, while her mother opted for less fussy white slip-ons. However, the dressed-down approach of both mother and daughter showed that they were both ready to get their hands (and clothes) dirty for a good cause.
Twinning at Prince Harry's wedding
It was the wedding of the decade: British Prince Harry wed American actor Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle one breezy May day in 2018. Camera crews from all over the world, not to mention journalists, rabid royal fans, and high-profile guests had all gathered in the riverside town of Windsor for the occasion. Although all eyes were on the bride and groom, royal watchers couldn't help but let their eyes stray to the other royals in attendance, especially when it came to the women and their gowns.
Among the 2,200-long guest list were Prince Harry's aunt-in-law Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and his younger cousin, Lady Louise Windsor. As close members of the royal family, there was never any doubt that these two would be admitted into the VIP entrance of the castle chapel. To the benefit of the paparazzi, Louise and her royal-by-marriage mother were in clear view of the camera lens as they made their way into the chapel in their matching ensembles.
The Duchess of Edinburgh wore a satin, sky-blue skirt paired with a patterned overshirt. She accessorized with a simple wristwatch, drop-down earrings, and a matching blue, feathered fascinator. By her side was the teenage Louise, who had followed in her mother's footsteps, wearing a light blue and black patterned dress with a white knitted bolero-style jacket. With her black and blue fascinator on top, Louise looked nearly identical to her mother.
Attending the coronation
2023 saw the debut of a much more mature and regal-looking Lady Louise. With each new photo, it became apparent that the queen's granddaughter was all grown up. But the added height and grace Louise had attained over time only added to the likeness she bore to her equally tall and graceful mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
On May 6, 2023, the pair were spotted attending the coronation of King Charles III. Paparazzi snapped away as the lookalike duo entered London's Westminster Abbey to observe the traditional pomp and circumstance of a royal coronation. While the ceremony came on the heels of a great tragedy — the death of Queen Elizabeth II — the coronation offered the royal family an opportunity to break out of their black mourning garb and look ahead to the future.
For the occasion, the all-grown-up Louise wore a springy white gown that featured a light blue floral motif. With her long blonde curls fashioned in a half-up, half-down style, she also accessorized with a matching light blue saucer-shaped fascinator. Next to her, the Duchess of Edinburgh wowed in her own white gown from the brand Suzannah London. As per protocol, her ensemble also included a traditional cape in bright blue and red colors. The Duchess chose a more minimalist topper than her daughter, opting instead for a smaller, white feathered fascinator. Together, the two blonde beauties appeared more like royal sisters than mother and daughter.
Headgear hand-me-downs
Trooping the Colour is an important ceremony that marks the official birthday of the British Sovereign. For over 260 years, the capital of London has seen 400 musicians, 200 horses, and 1400 soldiers gather outside Buckingham Palace to coordinate a parade in honor of their country's monarchy. While the Trooping the Colour ceremony means a lot of coordinating on the parts of city planners, horsemen, and military personnel, for members of the royal family, one of their biggest concerns is what they'll be wearing.
With countless cameras facing them, members of the royal family almost always show up to the Trooping the Colour in their finest threads. In 2022, eagle-eyed royal watchers noticed that the queen's youngest granddaughter, Lady Louise, had added a very familiar fascinator to her Trooping the Colour look. In addition to her pale pink blazer and floral patterned dress, the young royal wore a wicker-style hat that was later proven to be designed by the milliner Philip Treacy.
It turns out that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, had first debuted this headpiece at the 2009 Trooping the Colour. The hat perhaps holds special significance for Louise, considering that the 2009 Trooping the Colour was her first time joining her family on the iconic Buckingham Palace balcony. The fact that Louise chose to also wear an ensemble in the same pink hues as her mother's 2009 outfit emphasizes that perhaps nostalgia and, of course, admiration for her mother, played a part in her fashion decisions.
Classic Christmas looks at Sandringham
Seasons change, but genetics don't. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Lady Louise Windsor have twinned in many a summertime floral, but it turns out the arrival of winter doesn't halt the lookalike powers of the mother-and-daughter duo. While attending a Christmas Day service at Sandringham, the two wore matching collared camel-colored coats with statement headbands, perfect for the wintry English weather.
Their ensembles matched the occasion, as the royal family have been visiting the Norfolk estate of Sandringham for many decades. Louise's ancestors first added the estate to their portfolio in 1862 and it has since become synonymous with the royal family's heavily-publicized Christmas Day walk. In 2019, 16-year-old Louise joined her family for the iconic walk while simultaneously making her debut as a fashion force to be reckoned with.
The teenager stayed warm in a latte-colored jacket in a pin-checkered pattern, paired with a velvet purple headband that gave her ensemble a pop of festive color. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, echoed her daughter's look in a light taupe-colored jacket with a very Christmas-themed red velvet headband. Although they were surrounded by other lady royals who were also rocking long, cozy coats for the Sandringham walk, the likeness of Louise to her mother was still uncanny. With their matching long, honey-hued locks and their bright smiles, Louise's future as a graceful, working royal was on show for all to see.
Celestial shades for Easter
Pastels are normally all the rage for the Easter season, especially for the royal family. Time and time again, dukes, duchesses, princes, and princesses from across the pond have been seen sporting light blues and pinks for their annual outing to St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. However, Lady Louise and her mother Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, broke this mold one April day when they chose darker, more celestial hues for their 2022 Easter dresses.
The younger Lady Louise was looking regal in an asymmetrical hem dress dyed a rich mulberry color. The flattering gown steered clear of the more modest, simple looks the public has come to expect from the royal wardrobe by including an interesting, black floral motif. She also sported a slight V-neck cut that showed off her pendant necklace. And, of course, a royal's public outing wouldn't be complete without the customary fascinator. For this purple ensemble, Louise chose a mauve teardrop-shaped topper.
Never too far away from her eldest daughter, the Duchess of Edinburgh completed the pair's renegade color scheme by dressing in a brightly patterned blue and orange dress. The long-sleeved number gave off a 1970s discotheque feel, perhaps the boldest Easter look we've seen from a royal to date. With erratic swirls of midnight blue, white, and burnt orange, the mother-of-two's dress perfectly matched her daughter's darker-hued, otherworldly aesthetic. No matter the occasion or color scheme, it seems mother and daughter will always be in sync.