Lady Louise Windsor
| Lady Louise with her parents |
| |
The Lady Louise Windsor (Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor) (born
8 November 2003) is a member of the
British Royal Family. She is the only child of
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of
Queen Elizabeth II, and
Sophie, Countess of Wessex (née Rhys-Jones).
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, Surrey. Lady Louise was born by
emergency Caesarian section, necessitated by a
placental abruption, causing severe blood loss to both child and mother, before her due date in December. The Countess of Wessex had earlier had an
ectopic pregnancy. Prince Edward was not present for the birth. Lady Louise was transferred to a neo-natal unit in St George's Hospital, Tooting, London as a precaution. The Countess, meanwhile, remained at Frimley Park Hospital, until she was well enough to be released.
Lady Louise was released from hospital on
November 23, and her name was announced on
November 27; [
1] she was baptised in the Private Chapel of
Windsor Castle on
April 24 2004 with
Lord Ivar Mountbatten and
Lady Sarah Chatto as her
godparents.
Lady Louise is eighth in the
line of succession to the British throne, and 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.
Titles
2003-: The Lady Louise Windsor
legally2003-:
Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex
Notes
As a granddaughter of the monarch in the male line, she is legally and officially
Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex, not Lady Louise Windsor, and, when she comes of age, she may legally use the title Princess Louise if she wishes. However, when her parents married, they decided that their children would be styled(As did Princess Anne when she married Mark Phillips in 1973) as the children of an Earl rather than as princes or princesses with the style
Royal Highness. This was so they could avoid the full burden of royal titles and the responsibility that comes with them. However, in the absence of
letters patent, Lady Louise legally remains a
Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, regardless of how she is styled in practice, however, it would be ill-advised to address her as such, as HM The Queen is the authority on all honours, and has expressly denied her youngest granddaughter that title.
*
BBC News- "Royal baby born prematurely"
