Inside Lady Louise Windsor's Relationship With Her Mother, Sophie, Duchess Of Edinburgh

The daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Lady Louise Windsor is one of the most low-key royals. This is largely due to the way her parents raised her, as Edward and Sophie have maintained a relatively elusive profile themselves. Accordingly, Sophie has ensured that her daughter — despite her royal lineage — remains attuned to the civilian realm. "They go to friends for sleepovers and parties. At weekends we do lots of dog walking and stay with friends," the duchess told The Times in 2020 when discussing her kids. "I guess not everyone's grandparents live in a castle, but where you are going is not the important part, or who they are. When they are with the Queen, she is their grandmother."

Lady Louise Windsor was once said to be Queen Elizabeth II's favorite grandchild. Clearly, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, as her mom was also a favorite of the monarch. This suggests a comparable temperament between mother and daughter, but what is the reality of the pair's relationship? Here's a look inside Lady Louise Windsor's relationship with her mom, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

The firstborn child of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Edward, Lady Louise Windsor was born a month prematurely in November 2003. Lady Louise's birth proved a dramatic life or death situation for both herself and her mom. Sophie suffered acute placental abruption, which occurs when the placenta detaches from the uterus before delivery. The potentially life-threatening complication resulted in mass blood loss and left the duchess mere minutes from death. Louise, who weighed just 4 pounds 9 ounces, had to undergo special care following her birth and was separated from her mother. It was a traumatic ordeal that changed Sophie's approach to motherhood. "The experience has permanently affected the way she looks at life now, especially with her children," a friend told the Daily Mail. "Her plan is to keep safe by thinking ahead and making sure everything is done properly — by never leaving anything to chance."

But the experience ultimately brought mother and daughter closer together. As BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK!, Louise's traumatic arrival into the world has made her mother appreciate her even more. "They nurtured Louise, I think a great deal," Bond said of Sophie and her husband, Prince Edward. "I think Louise has always held a very dear part in their hearts as any child does, but because it was such a difficult birth."

As Lady Louise Windsor was growing up, her mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, tried to give her as normal a childhood as possible. This meant rarely, if ever, discussing the elephant in the room: the crown. "Certainly when they were very young we tried to keep them out of it," Sophie told the BBC (via People) in 2016. "Only because for their sakes, to grow up as normally as possible we felt was quite important."

This detachment from the realities of the firm was so pronounced that Louise grew up not realizing that her grandmother, Elizabeth II, was the queen. "Well for Louise, actually, it was much more of a shock to the system," she explained. "It was only when she was coming home from school and saying, 'Mummy, people keep on telling me that grandma is the queen.'"

According to Katie Nicholl's book "The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth's Legacy and the Future of the Crown," Princess Catherine has always admired the way that Sophie raised her kids. It's something that Catherine has herself tried to emulate while raising her three children, though for the future queen consort this is, of course, a much harder feat. "Kate is said to admire the way Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, are raising their children ... in the bosom of the Royal Family but prepared for life in the real world," Nicholl wrote.

Due to her traumatic birth, Lady Louise Windsor has esotropia, a rare condition in which her eyes look in different directions. As such, she has undergone a number of surgeries, starting when she was just 18 months old. However, this first procedure was unsuccessful and Louise still had a prominent squint. "Premature babies can often have squints because the eyes are the last thing in the baby package to really be finalized," Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, said (via Express). "Her squint was quite profound when she was tiny and it takes time to correct it."

Subsequently, Sophie has devoted much of her time to advocating for various sight and blindness prevention charities. "I can promise you there are few things more rewarding in this world than seeing someone step from the dark into the light," she said at a Seeing Is Believing gala, per Hello! At the age of 10, Louise had another surgery; this time the operation was a success. 

Appearing in the documentary "Edward and Sophie: Reluctant Royals," royal expert Roya Nikkhah revealed that Sophie is fiercely protective of her daughter due to her medical condition. "One of [Sophie's] key charitable endeavors is doing as much as she can for avoidable blindness and for eyesight charities," Nikkhah said. "Lady Louise has had corrective surgery, although it's not perfect. And Sophie recently said, 'And which one of us are?' which I thought was rather lovely."

Equestrianism is in the royals' blood, embraced by the likes of Princess Anne and Olympian Zara Tindall. Though not an equestrian, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, explored the prospect of a career as a carriage driver in her younger years. However, she gave it up after giving birth to Lady Louise Windsor. Her daughter has inherited this passion and is herself an accomplished carriage driver. 

In 2019, Louise won third place in a carriage driving competition at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, and, two years later, she inherited Prince Philip's carriage and two ponies. Sophie nurtures her daughter's sporting talents and has spoken of how proud she is of her achievements. "I trail in her wake frankly," Sophie said (via Hello!). "No, she is naturally so good at it, she really is. It's something that she has taken to very well." 

In 2020, Louise briefly took a break from carriage driving while she focused on her education. "She wouldn't have been able to compete this year because she would have been in the middle of exams but it's a lovely thing to do," Sophie said. "To actually participate in the horse show you know, has been a really special thing for her to do." In 2024, mother and daughter attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show together and were seen sweetly hugging at the event. Louise also drove a carriage at the event, with her mom by her side for support.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live (via the Independent) in 2021, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, opened up about the difficulties of raising a teenage daughter. Specifically, she discussed the dilemma of being a protective mother while simultaneously wanting to give Lady Louise Windsor space. "She's got her eyes fairly wide open, but inevitably there will be moments that may not go so well for her, I just hope we can be there to support her through those moments," she said. "I hope that she and her friends will protect her ... But I have to let her live her life. It's not mine to live." She explained that she hoped Louise would remain as private an individual as possible; notably, Louise doesn't use any form of social media and keeps a pretty low profile, much to her mom's relief.

As her daughter gets older, the prospect of dating is also on the horizon. Sources who spoke to New Idea said that, while Louise hasn't yet met anyone she likes, her mom was keeping a close eye on the company she keeps. "She has recovered from the shock of her baby girl being old enough to date and — after talking to Kate — is now gently encouraging her to dip her toes in the water," the source divulged.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has been a tireless campaigner for women's rights, visiting survivors of sexual assault and child trafficking. These are, of course, not easy subjects to discuss with children, but Sophie believes in being forthright when her kids ask her about her work. 

In her chat with BBC Radio 5 Live (via Express), Sophie revealed that Lady Louise Windsor has taken an interest in learning about such difficult subject matter. "She's very aware of this kind of thing ... we chat about it quite a lot and particularly if I've been on a trip somewhere, she wants to know where I've been and what I've been doing," she explained. "I think it's about having honest, open conversations as a family, but also hopefully in school settings as well."

Likewise, in an interview with Good Housekeeping, Sophie opened up about her approach to parenting, emphasizing that she wants her children to know there's no subject they cannot discuss with her. "If children feel they can discuss issues and worries with their parents, without fear of them, or their friends, being judged, this may give opportunity to help them with what can be a complex and very pressured area," she said. "It's so important that young people have adults in their lives who support and affirm them." Sophie and Louise's ability to discuss such challenging topics indicates a considerably strong mother-daughter bond.

Lady Louise Windsor is proving to be her mother's twin, and the two also share a passion for fashion. As with a number of royals, Louise has borrowed clothes from her mom's closet on many occasions. For instance, when attending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding in 2018, Louise wore a black and white dress that was one of her mom's signature pieces. She has also routinely borrowed her mother's clothing for carriage events, notably wearing her feathered fedora for the Royal Windsor Horse Show in both 2022 and 2023, and donning her tan tweed jacket while carriage driving at an event in 2023. 

But it's not just Louise who raids her mom's closet; in 2022, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, borrowed her daughter's coat while attending Remembrance service (Louise had previously worn the coat to Queen Elizabeth II's memorial service, making it a poignant garment for both mother and daughter). Moreover, both Sophie and Louise reportedly share a passion for vintage fashion, proving themselves sustainable queens.

Queen Elizabeth II had a close relationship with Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who was once dubbed the monarch's "favorite child." When Elizabeth died in September 2022, Sophie was distraught. At the time, Lady Louise Windsor, who was also super close to the queen, had just set off for the University of St Andrews to study English Literature. But she didn't let that stop her from supporting her mom during this difficult time. 

"Sophie could not have got through this year if it hadn't been for Lou," an insider told New Idea. "It was barely days after Sophie and Edward had bid farewell to their daughter that the Queen died, so it was a tough start to her first year at uni. Yet, she was nothing but a rock for her folks, especially her mum who was so close to Her Majesty." Despite Louise's newfound freedom as a college student, she ensured that she was there to offer comfort to her grieving mother when she needed it the most, exemplifying the close bond between the two.

Lady Louise Windsor does not have a title and is not regarded as a working royal. As such, she has much more freedom than many of her fellow royals. Her mom, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, wouldn't have it any other way. In her interview with The Times in 2020, Sophie divulged that she did not want her daughter to be beholden to royal tradition. Rather, she hopes that she will live a relatively ordinary life away from the glare of the spotlight, and, indeed, the pressures of the firm. 

"We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living," she said. "Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it's highly unlikely." Following through on her mom's wishes, Louise reportedly took a summer job at a garden center in 2022, earning just £6.63 (around $8.56) an hour.

Sophie knows what it's like to have her personal space invaded by the press. In 1999, topless photos of the duchess were published by The Sun; then, in 2001, she was engulfed by bad publicity after falling for an undercover sting operation in which a News of the World journalist posed as a sheik. As such, it's understandable that she wants her daughter to lead as normal a life as possible.