Lady Louise Windsor 'inherited' Duchess Sophie's talent for wholesome hobby - and she'll need it as a non-working royal
The 'low-key' 22-year-old is expected to have a career outside of The Firm and that means her lifestyle will look very different
Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie are key working royals but their children aren't expected to follow in their footsteps. King Charles and Prince William are believed to be keen on streamlining the monarchy and adding two more people to the payroll wouldn't exactly fit this vision.
This means Lady Louise and her brother will have to make their own way in the world and she's already mastered a useful skill with Sophie's help. According to the Daily Mail, she reportedly worked for several weeks this summer cooking for guests renting lodges on King Charles's Scottish estate.
"She's incredibly low-key and discreet. I only know because she cooked for a friend who rang me up [in surprise] to tell me about it," a source who's known her for many years claimed. "Louise is a really good cook - it's something she inherits from her mother. They do it together a lot."
Having your meals cooked for you by the King's niece was probably a surreal experience for many guests and it's interesting to hear that Louise is not only great at it, but does it with her mum. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh reportedly advertised for a chef a few years ago, so it seems they don't make all their own meals.
However, Sophie clearly loves spending time in the kitchen and in 2020 shared a video where she baked cheese and bacon scones at home in support of Girl Guiding and Children in Need.
It's possible she and Louise have baked the same scones together over the years and the Duchess has also said in the past that she and Prince Philip used to chat about cooking. Philip was incredibly close with Louise too and took charge of barbequing when the royals were in Scotland.
Perhaps he also inspired her to learn to cook, as his other grandchildren remember his grilling skills fondly.
"Every barbecue that I've ever been on, the Duke of Edinburgh has been there cooking…we go on barbecues and there's no chef, there's no anyone else," Prince William said in Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers. "He's definitely a dab hand [at it]."
Lady Louise seems to enjoy cooking as a wholesome hobby with Sophie, though it's also a vital skill for her. Private chefs don't sound like her style and hiring one would depend a lot on her future income too. It makes sense for her to just cook her own meals and Louise and James, Earl of Wessex have been raised to expect to have a job outside The Firm.
"We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living," the Duchess of Edinburgh once 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."
Neither ended up making this choice so Lady Louise and James's futures will look a lot different to the lives Duchess Sophie and Prince Edward are leading now.
