The Lady Louise Windsor (Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor) (born November 8th, 2003), is a member of the British Royal Family. She is the daughter of HRH The Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, and the Queen's youngest grandchild.
Lady Louise Windsor with her parents
Though officially Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex her parents have opted to use form of style for their daughter that is standard for daughters of peers (that of Lady) given that her father is an earl, rather than the standard title of Princess with the style Her Royal Highness used traditionally by daughters of princes. Lady Louise is eighth in line to the British throne.
Birth
Lady Louise was born on November 8, 2003 at Frimley Park Hospital , Surrey. Her father is HRH The Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Her mother is HRH The Countess of Wessex (née Sophie Rhys-Jones). She 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.
Style and Title
Under letters patent issued in 1917, all male children of the monarch receive a style and are referred to as Prince or Princess. In the 1990s, to remove some public criticism about the size of the Royal Family (where minor royals such as Prince Michael of Kent, the grandson of King George V, have received continuous media attention and criticism) one option considered by the Way Ahead committee on which among others the Duke of Edinburgh sat, was to restrict such titles and styles to to only the most senior figures, namely the monarch's children and the children of the heir to the throne. It was suggested that other children should be treated not as descendants of a monarch but as the children of a peer, given that princes traditionally receive peerages when they marry.
No reason given for use of style chosen
The parents of Lady Louise did not indicate the reason why they chose to use the form of address applicable to a daughter of a peer rather than a daughter of a prince. It was speculated that it was decided in part due to the earlier considerations about restricting the use of titles to senior royals. In addition, it was speculated in the British press that royals not possessing titles might receive less public and media attention and so be able to live more private lives. That has been the experience of the children of Anne, Princess Royal, none of whom have a title, a decision for privacy reasons by their parents, Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. In contrast Andrew, Duke of York opted not to have his two daughters changed from being Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York to Lady Beatrice Windsor and Lady Eugenie Windsor in the 1990s, he believing it unfair to "demote" them from titles they had already received.
Lady Louise Windsor was the first child of a British prince born after the Way Ahead committee report.
No letters patent issued
Nevertheless Lady Louise is still technically Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex, since there have been no letters patent issued denying Louise the style of HRH. However, she is referred to both formally and informally as Lady Louise Windsor. This is similar to the situation with her aunt, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, who is entitled to the style, Princess of Wales, yet is known as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, though necessary letters patent have not been issued. Similarly Queen Mary, the widow of King George V, opted to continue to be referred to as Queen Mary rather than Queen Mary the Queen Mother, again without letters patent being issued. So in practice there is a history of flexibility as to what title and style a member of the British Royal Family uses, notwithstanding the official title and style they may theoretically hold.
