The Untold Truth Of Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor

When we think of the royal family, we typically consider Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III, Prince William and Harry, and of course, their late mother, Princess Diana. But the royal family is far more extensive than the few people that we see in the headlines time and time again. One such royal who doesn't spend a ton of time in the spotlight is Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor — that's a mouthful! The eldest daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Louise is a budding member of the family, who is seen as a huge asset to the royals.

Louise hasn't spent a ton of time in the public eye, but when she has, she's always behaved with a palpable amount of royal etiquette and charm. She was a bridesmaid at Prince William and Princess Catherine's 2011 wedding when she was a young royal and has been spotted many times over the years at several royal events. As a young woman, Louise is, without a doubt, a royal to watch, and seems to have a bright future within Britain's royal family. Here is the untold truth of Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.

Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor was born a month premature, and as such, she developed a condition called strabismus, which may impact the ability to see. According to the American Optometric Association, if the condition is not treated, it can result in a "lazy eye" where the brain starts to ignore signals from the eyes. Louise's diagnosis inspired her mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, to get involved in the awareness of this condition and has since advocated for children who are visually impaired.

As a child, Louise reportedly had a very impactful squint, though her vision has improved with time. "Her squint was quite profound when she was tiny and it takes time to correct it," Sophie said (via Express). "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." It remains unclear whether Louise's condition fixed itself with time, or if she had an operation to correct it, but nevertheless, it has inspired her mother to advocate for those who have the same condition and similar vision difficulties.

Some aspects of the royal family and the institution at large are quite archaic, and until it was amended, the rule that a younger brother would circumvent his older sister in the line of succession was enforced. As such, although Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor is older than her brother, James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn, he is ahead of her in the line of succession to the British throne. 

The Succession to the Crown Act, which halted the gender-based rule, was not implemented until 2013, after both Louise and James were born. The act states that all royal family members born after October 28, 2011, would benefit — leaving Louise out of the loop, so to speak. The act, at one point, was of heightened importance, as Princess Charlotte was not overtaken by her younger brother, Prince Louis, in the line of succession after he was born. She's not the only young royal to have benefitted from the act. Zara Tindall's daughters, Mia and Lena, also maintained their positions, even after their younger brother, Lucas, was born.

Unfortunately, Louise was born too early — before the cutoff date — to benefit from the act. As heirs are born, she will continue to move down the line of succession.

Queen Elizabeth II had eight grandchildren, ranging from their 40s down to their teens. Some of the queen's most high-profile grandchildren include Prince William and Prince Harry, but it was Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor who had a special place in the queen's heart. 

As noted by The Sun, Louise was reportedly the queen's favorite grandchild, given their common interests, their summers spent together, and Louise's kind nature. In 2019, a royal insider told the publication, "The queen loves the fact that Louise and [her younger brother James Mountbatten-Windsor] relish their time at Balmoral, and she has become particularly close to Louise ... Louise also endeared herself to everyone by looking after William and Kate's children when they were up here."

Louise reportedly stepped up to the babysitting plate — like all good older cousins do — when Princess Charlotte visited the queen. Louise apparently has a talent for drawing and extended her time and patience to encourage the little princess to draw while she visited her great-grandmother. The gesture clearly made a big impact on the monarch, who looked very favorably on her granddaughter.

There are some strong genes in the royal family. For instance, Prince William looked like the spitting image of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was young. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have sibling similarities. But when it comes to Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, she resembles none other than her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. 

As Express noted, the young royal looks remarkably similar to the queen when she was young, with royal commentator Camilla Tominey commenting on the similarities in 2021. "Lady Louise bears a striking resemblance to a young Princess Elizabeth, and is said to share something of her character, too," Tominey assessed. An insider also told the publication that, like her grandmother, Louise is "studious ... conscientious and straightforward," all qualities that Elizabeth embodies — just think of all the years that Elizabeth was on the throne and all the aspects of life she has had to oversee. "There is something about her — a capability," the insider shared. "She's obviously a very gentle young woman." Louise's similar looks and traits may explain why she and the queen get along so well.

The public always gets to witness the British royal family interact with each other. As such, body language expert Judi James shared her thoughts with Express regarding the dynamic between Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and her mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

As Louise has gotten older, Sophie has reportedly taken a couple of steps back in order for her daughter to branch out on her own. This is shown in her body language toward the young royal and is an aspect of their relationship that James picked up on. "Sophie's confidence signals show her as being the more socially active one in the team dynamic," James said. "Her encouraging and proud smile is teamed with the kind of spatial gap you'd get between friends ... This allows Sophie's daughter to be seen and to feel like a confident adult in public." 

James also highlighted the smiles that are often cast between Sophie and Louise, assessing that the pair share a friendship as well as a mother-daughter bond. Additionally, James suggested that Sophie knows how to avoid being "overprotective" of Louise and is happy to let her strike out on her own.

The British royal family has been known to indulge in a lavish lifestyle, and many of its members have the receipts to prove it. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shelled out a whopping $14.7 million for a Montecito mansion that, as Meghan told The Cut, made them feel "joy." For that price, we sure hope it does. Meanwhile, according to a 2009 report in the Daily Mail, Princess Eugenie spent £100,000 exploring destinations like India and Thailand.

Unlike her older cousins, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor seems to be cut of much simpler cloth. Rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive items or getaways, Louise has actually tried to make some money. The young aristocrat is not afraid to get her hands dirty — literally. As reported by The Sun, Louise spent her last summer before heading off to St. Andrew's University toiling away at a garden center, where she was likely earning a minimum wage. It's believed that her responsibilities included greeting customers, pruning the plants, and even tilling the soil.

While people of a previous generation might not believe it appropriate for the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II to perform manual labor, many royal fans found Louise's work life to be refreshing. As one satisfied customer told The Sun, "She is a really modest and sweet young woman who is polite and attentive to customers. She seemed to be loving the job."

The world often sees Prince William and Princess Catherine's children, who are all direct heirs to the British throne. But the children of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, are rarely seen in the spotlight. As Express noted, this could be directly linked to Edward and Sophie's wish for privacy. Even though Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor is an adult, she's only ever seen during official royal events.

Edward has spoken about his desire to keep his kids out of the headlines. As his importance in the royal family increases, the chances of Louise and her brother being available for scrutiny also increase. "This desire to protect his children's privacy might sound natural but given Sophie and his current elevation through the ranks of the Firm and their much higher profile as a result it could be a personal challenge for Edward to ensure that any desire for privacy is respected," body language expert Judi James told Express when analyzing the dynamic between Louise and her parents. That privacy is certainly being extended to Louise, who is often only ever seen with one of her parents.

Royal body language expert, Judi James, is not the only person who seems to believe that Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor will choose to lead a normal life. According to a report in The Sun, one of the blond aristocrat's closest friends agrees with this assessment. Speaking to the outlet, an insider close to Louise's family stated, "Louise will always be a member of the royal family, just not a 'professional' full-time working royal. She's more like Zara Tindall and her brother Peter Phillips — they have their royal birthright but are not hands-on 'balcony royals.'"

The reason for this choice might have something to do with Louise's unusual upbringing. Unlike other royals of her generation, Louise studied at a fairly typical British school. She was also encouraged to enjoy inexpensive hobbies, like going on walks or attending slumber parties. As the same family friend told The Sun, "Louise is a lovely, genuine, down-to-earth girl with no sense of entitlement ... She does not see any need to use the 'adornments', as she calls them, which can often attract more attention than they are worth."

If Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor seems to be totally different from her royal cousins, that might just be because she is. As the 13th in line to the British throne, the young aristocrat is not exactly the highest-ranking member of the royal family. One of the biggest factors separating Louise from the likes of Princess Beatrice or Princess Eugenie is that she does not have a princess title.

Interestingly, though, it has been suggested that Louise actually had the opportunity to become a princess — but chose against it. In 2020, the aristocrat's mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, told The Sunday Times, "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. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it's highly unlikely."

After Sophie made these comments, royal fans awaited Louise's 18th birthday with all kinds of anticipation. As the day grew closer and closer, people began to speculate that Louise would become a princess ... while others assumed she would simply maintain the status quo. In the end, Louise's titles did not change, and some royal experts began to question whether she really had the right to choose at all. As historian, Marlene Koenig, told Express, there is "no precedent" for young royals to choose their own titles.