Lady Louise Windsor, Queen Elizabeth’s youngest granddaughter and Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh’s only daughter, has graduated from university. At the St Andrews ceremony today, she was announced as “Louise Mountbatten-Windsor,” a surname available for members of the British royal family who specifically descend from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Both her parents were in attendance for her graduation, the Royal Family’s official social media accounts later shared:
Lady Louise, 22, is currently 17th in the line of succession to the British throne (though she will be bumped down in the order following birth of her cousin Eugenie’s third child). After completing her English degree, Louise is set to take a gap year, though specifics regarding what that might look like have yet to be shared publicly. On her now defunct LinkedIn page (it has now been taken down), Lady Louise wrote, “I am interested in pursuing a career in the military, diplomacy, or law.” If she does decide to enlist, she could make history as the first female royal to serve in the military since her late grandmother. During her time at St Andrews, she joined St Andrews University Officers’ Training Corps as a cadet. She holds the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army Reserve.
Lady Louise is also an avid carriage driver, and this past May, she was photographed working at the annual Royal Windsor Horse Show, and taking part in a competition. “I trail in her wake, frankly,” her mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh said in a 2020 interview about Lady Louise’s carriage driving skills. “She is naturally so good at it, she really is. It’s something that she has taken to very well.”
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Lady Louise Windsor, working as an official during the International Carriage Driving Competition, attends day 3 of The Royal Windsor Horse Show 2026.
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Lady Louise Windsor takes part in the Pol Roger Meet of the British Driving Society on day 4 of The Royal Windsor Horse Show 2026.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.