Lady Louise Windsor
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The Lady Louise Windsor (Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 November 2003) is a member of the British Royal Family. She is the elder child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex. She is the youngest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, Lady Louise is 9th in line to the throne and at the time of her birth was 8th.

Early life

Lady Louise was born, prematurely, on 8 November 2003, at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, after her mother was rushed there by ambulance from the couple's home at Bagshot Park, Surrey. She was delivered by emergency Caesarean section, necessitated by a placental abruption, causing severe blood loss to both child and mother, before her December due-date. The Countess of Wessex had previously suffered an ectopic pregnancy. Prince Edward was not present for the birth because it came so suddenly. Lady Louise was transferred to a neo-natal unit in St George's Hospital, Tooting, London as a precaution. Meanwhile, the Countess remained at Frimley Park Hospital until she was well enough to be released.

British Royal Family
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH Prince William of Wales HRH Prince Henry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra
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Lady Louise was released from hospital on 23 November and her name was announced on 27 November.² She was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 24 April 2004 with Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Lady Sarah Chatto, Lady Alexandra Etherington, Francesca Schwarzenbach and Rupert Elliott as her godparents.³

Lady Louise is ninth in the line of succession to the British throne. Until her birth, the first ten positions in the order of succession remained unchanged for over 13 years after the birth of her cousin, Princess Eugenie in 1990.

Louise was born with the eye disorder exotropia. In January 2006 it was unofficially revealed that Lady Louise had undergone a 30-minute operation under general anaesthetic to correct the problem.⁴

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 8 November 2003 —: The Lady Louise Windsor⁵
  • Legally: Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex

Letters patent issued in 1917 (and still remaining in force today) assign a princely status and the style of Royal Highness to all male-line grandchildren of a monarch. Louise is thus entitled to all of these, and as such would be referred to as Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex.⁶ However, when her parents married, the Queen, via a Buckingham Palace press release, announced that (in hopes of avoiding some of the burdens associated with royal titles) their children would be styled as the children of an earl rather than as princes or princesses. Thus, court communications never refer to her in terms of a Princess of the United Kingdom, but simply as The Lady Louise Windsor.

Honours

In June 2008, to recognise a visit by her father to the province of Manitoba, the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba-in-Council named a lake in the north of the province after Lady Louise.⁷

References

1. ^ Given her proper title under the 1917 Letters Patent, HRH Princess Louise of Wessex holds no surname; but, when court communications give her a surname in order to refer to her without this royal style, it is Windsor.
2. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Royal Wessex baby finally named
3. ^ Buckingham Palace press releases – Christening of Lady Louise Windsor
4. ^ The Royalist - Lady Louise Windsor Makes A Rare Public Appearance
5. ^ Hardman, Robert (2007-11-29). "The Line of Succession to the British Throne", Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. Druck, Wemding, Germany: Ebury Press, 265. ISBN 978-0-09191-842-2. 
6. ^ Royal Styles and Titles – 1917 Letters Patent
7. ^ Canadian Press: Prince Edward visits Winnipeg; 2 June 2008

External links

• BBC News- "Royal baby born prematurely"
• The Royalist: Lady Louise Windsor Makes A Rare Public Appearance 25 July 2006

Ancestry