Lady Louise Windsor has accepted a ‘paid job’ at the Royal Windsor Horse Show as officials praised the ‘hard-working’ royal as a ‘real asset’ to the team.
Lady Louise, 22, who is studying English at the University of St Andrew’s, seemed unfazed by the cold rain in Berkshire as she arrived for the prestigious equestrian event that begins today.
King Charles’s niece, who is one of the chief organisers of the event, wore a Joules Tweed Field Coat in a heather check pattern and showed her support with a ‘RWHS’ cap over her flowing blonde tresses.
She finished her look with a pair of navy trousers tucked into a pair of Wellington boots with a beige leather strap.
She was joined by her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh as they kicked off the first day of the show ahead of King Charles’s attendance later this week.
Sophie, 61, beamed with pride as she watched her daughter help out with preparations, after the director of the Royal Windsor Horse Show praised Lady Louise as a ‘great worker’ who doesn’t have any ‘airs or graces’.
The Duchess was typically elegant in a beige tweed jacket, dark brown trousers, and an off-white scarf as she bundled up on the cold May afternoon.
Lady Louise Windsor has accepted a paying job at the Royal Windsor Horse Show as officials praised the ‘hard-working’ royal as a ‘real asset’ to the team
Sophie beamed with pride as she watched her daughter help out with preparations
She also carried a waterproof windcheater and a long-strap brown shoulder bag, as Sophie pulled her hair back into a low ponytail.
Louise’s father Prince Edward, 62, was also seen at the horse show that was a firm favourite of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
While Lady Louise did not attend last year’s edition of the horse show, which hosts international competitors for dressage and show jumping on the grounds of Windsor Castle, she is making her presence quietly known this year.
According to Nick Brooks-Ward, the director of the event, the down-to-earth royal is operating a ‘first concierge service’.
He told Vanity Fair: ‘Lady Louise is one of the chief organizers, essentially operating a first concierge service.
‘Sheâs a great worker and a real asset to the team with no airs or graces. Itâs a proper paid job and thereâs no special treatment because of who she is.’
In addition to helping out behind-the-scenes, Lady Louise will also compete in the carriage driving event later this week.
The royal was taught to carriage drive as a young girl by her grandfather, the late Prince Philip, and the pair are said to have bonded over a shared love of the sport.
The late Duke of Edinburgh counted the activity as one of his favourite pastimes. In the 1970s, Philip raced carriages near Norfolk before going on to represent Britain at several world and European championships.
In a heartfelt tribute to her grandfather, Lady Louise drove his carriage during an emotional procession at the finale of the ‘Gallop Through History’ during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in May 2022.
Sophie being driven around the horse show in a golf cart
Prince Edward also attended the prestigious show, which was a firm favourite of his mother, the late Queen
Lady Louise now frequently partakes in equestrian competitions and has driven her beloved grandfather’s ponies as a way to keep his memory alive.
She will participate in the Meet of the British Driving Society on the final day of the event, with Edward and Sophie expected to attend in their role as president and vice-president of the show.
Mr Brooks-Ward said the Duke and Duchess ‘invest a lot of time in the show’ that has become a cherished royal family tradition.
Louise, who is frequently referred to as The Firm’s ‘dark horse’, has also often been compared to the late Monarch, particularly due to their shared love of horses.
Lady Louise is seldom seen at royal events with her family as she prioritises her studies and keeps a lower profile – but as she’s set to be considering a career in the military, her nickname as The Firm’s ‘secret weapon’ may soon materialise.
Last November, it was reported that Lady Louise has ‘fallen in love’ with army cadets alongside her university degree at St Andrews – much like her father did a generation earlier.
A source told The Sun: ‘She talks about being very keen on a career in the military, serving the King and country. She is all about the Army Cadets and has fallen in love with it.’
If the 20-year-old royal, who has maintained a low profile during her university days, goes down the military path, she will be the first female royal since her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to do so.
Commenting on their similar nature, royal biographer Ingrid Seward previously told the Daily Mail: ‘There are shades of the young Elizabeth. There is something about her â a capability.
‘Sheâs obviously a very gentle young woman.’
The late Queen, who died on September 8, 2022, made her final visit to the horse show just months before her death.
The beloved monarch would wander among the stalls wearing a headscarf and often entered homebred horses and ponies in classes at the show.
Lady Louise has been touted as the royal family’s ‘secret weapon’ who could continue the ‘royal family’s legacy’ – following in her mother Sophie’s footsteps.
Phil Dampier, who has written about the Firm for 35 years, told the Telegraph that Lady Louise is ‘mature’ for her age, and is progressing to become ‘precisely the kind of person the [late] Queen can rely on’.
‘You have to ask yourself who is going to continue their legacy with Harry and Meghan and Prince Andrew off the scene? There’s a huge workload there.’
Meanwhile, royal expert and author Christopher Wilson recently described the young royal as a ‘dark-horse contender’ in King Charles’s ‘slimmed down’ monarchy following the scandal surrounding his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
