NEED TO KNOW
- A royal biographer is weighing in on the possible future duties of Queen Elizabeth’s youngest grandchildren
- Prince Edward’s children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, are younger than the rest of their cousins and have largely kept out of the royal spotlight
- As they finish their schooling, royal biographer Sean Smith says Edward and his wife, Sophie, have been “careful to prepare their children for a life outside the working royal family”
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s four children all play very different roles in the modern royal family, and their own children have followed suit. Now, a royal biographer is weighing in on the possible future expectations for the late Queen’s youngest pair of grandchildren: Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex.
The children of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh — Louise, 21, and James, 17 — are years younger than their cousins and have largely been kept out of the public eye.
As they reach adulthood and their parents have stepped into more senior royal roles following the accession of King Charles and Edward’s inheritance of his late father’s title, it’s believed that Louise and James may not be called upon for major royal duties.
“I think Sophie — and Edward — have been careful to prepare their children for a life outside the working royal family,” royal biographer Sean Smith recently told GB News.
The author of a new biography on Sophie, subtitled Saving the Royal Family, Smith said he’s “confident that there will not be any pressure on Louise and James” to take on major royal duties.
Lady Louise is currently starting her final year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she studies English. Like some of her cousins, she has also taken part in military training and holds the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army Reserve.
Her most public royal connection, however, is her love of horses and carriage driving. She inherited Prince Philip’s driving ponies and carriage upon his death in 2021, and she recently competed at the National Carriage Driving Championships, where she was cheered on by her rumored boyfriend, Felix da Silva-Clamp.
“[She] is the only young woman of her age in the royal family, and I am sure she will be a great success at whatever she decides to do,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, James inherited his father’s former title of Earl of Wessex upon King Charles’ accession in 2023, having previously been titled Viscount Severn. He currently attends the all-boys boarding school Radley College in Oxfordshire.
While Louise has taken part in more recent public royal events like Trooping the Colour, James is often photographed with the royal family at holiday services.
In September 2022, Louise and James joined their cousins — Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Peter Phillips, and Zara Tindall — in standing vigil during funeral services for the late Queen Elizabeth.
Prince William and Prince Harry attended the service in their military uniforms. Closest in line to the throne, the brothers were raised in preparation for life in the royal spotlight, and now, William’s children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — are following the same path.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal roles in 2020 and are raising their children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, in California.
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Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, declined royal titles for Peter and Zara upon their births, stating they wanted them to have as normal lives as possible.
“I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles,” Princess Anne told Vanity Fair in 2020. “So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”
While Prince Andrew stepped back from royal life and was later stripped of his military titles and patronages due to the controversy over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, his daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, fall somewhere in between the rest of their cousins in terms of royal duties. They are non-working royals with professional careers of their own; however, Beatrice is one of King Charles’ Counsellors of State, which means she could execute constitutional duties if the King is abroad or unwell. The sisters also support charities and causes, occasionally appearing at related events.
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