Lady Louise, who is said to be Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite granddaughter, was devastated by the death of her grandmother. The 19-year-old was also upset by the death of her grandfather, Prince Philip, with whom she shared a passion for horse-drawn carriages and carriage shows. Since she was a child, the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie of Wessex has always been close to Queen Elizabeth II. She grew up like any other granddaughter, seeing her grandmother regularly. However, she did not know at first that her dear grandmother was the Queen of England.
Indeed, Sophie of Wessex told the BBC in 2016 that she raised her daughter normally, without really telling her how important her family could be in the UK. The first few days of school were eye-opening for little Louise. “Mom, people keep telling me that grandma is the queen,” she had wondered then to her mother. The Countess of Wessex answered her daughter that it was the truth. It took Louise a while to understand the concept of royalty, only later realizing that her grandmother Elizabeth was the only queen of England, and that her uncle Charles would one day occupy the throne.
George knows he will be king
Prince Edward had explained that he himself had gradually realized that his mother was queen, but that it was different for him who had grown up with her. “I don’t really remember the day I realized it. When you grow up in this family and in this environment, it’s just what your parents do.”
Like Kate and William, Edward and Sophie chose to raise their children, Louise and James, as far away from the pressures of royal life as possible. The difference is that they, the Wessexes, were able to do so for much longer than the Cambridges. Kate and William were able to raise George normally until he went to school and began to understand that he was not just another little boy. Now 9 years old, he knows that one day he will be King of England, and what that will mean for him, as well as for his sister Charlotte and his little brother Louis.
Photo credits: Royalportraits Europe/Bernard Rubsamen / Bestimage