Lady Louise Windsor to read English at St Andrews following A-level success

Lady Louise Windsor - Jacob King
Lady Louise Windsor - Jacob King
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Lady Louise Windsor is to read English at the University of St Andrews, following in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The 18-year-old daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex will relocate to Fife in September to begin the four-year course.

The palace did not reveal her A-level grades but the standard entry requirements are AAA.

A spokesperson said: “Having received her A-level results today, Lady Louise will start at St Andrews University in September to study English.”

It was there, within the relatively secluded confines of the Scottish university campus, that romance blossomed for the teenage Prince William and Kate Middleton, who met as undergraduates on its history of art course.

St Andrews students take part in the traditional Pier Walk in September last year - Gayle McIntyre
St Andrews students take part in the traditional Pier Walk in September last year - Gayle McIntyre

The Duke would later switch to geography, but the couple’s bond had already been forged.

Both lived in the first year at St Salvator’s Hall and later shared houses with friends.

Lady Louise has largely kept out of the public eye, having appeared more than happy to let her elder cousins command the attention on family occasions.

Raised, alongside her brother James, Viscount Severn, just 20 minutes away from Windsor Castle at 51-acre Bagshot Park, she has enjoyed a close relationship with her grandmother, the Queen.

She also had a particularly tight bond with the late Duke of Edinburgh, who taught her carriage driving and to her bequeathed his two fell ponies, Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm, to go with the polished green carriage he designed and rode.

Last autumn, she emerged as one of the stars of the show in a BBC documentary about Prince Philip’s life, speaking confidently and affectionately about her beloved “Grandpa” and their shared love of the sport.

I definitely hope I have made him proud,” she declared, describing the Duke, who died last April aged 99, as “honestly, one of the most interesting people I have ever met”.

Lady Louise Windsor - Mark Cuthbert
Lady Louise Windsor - Mark Cuthbert

Explaining how she inherited his love of carriage riding, she added: “After a competition, he would always ask how it went. His eyes would light up because he just gets so excited when he talks about it.”

In May, she rode the Duke’s ponies at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, to the clear delight of the monarch, watching in the stands.

Lady Louise attended St George’s School, Windsor, before moving to St Mary’s School Ascot in 2017, where she is said to have chosen English, history, politics and drama as her A-level subjects.

In an interview with The Telegraph Magazine last June, Prince Edward revealed he was glad his daughter was doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award as a distraction to her studies, saying it had made her “more confident”.

The Earl said: “It’s just broadened her horizons. I think she’s probably got a little focused on - especially at the school she is at - just on the academics.”

Describing Lady Louise as a “committed person” who would happily “[take] off on her bike” during lockdown, the Countess added: “This is the kind of thing that really ticks the boxes for her.

“But in terms of confidence, it’s given her a huge amount. She’s taken up fencing again as her skill, which she has really loved.”