Princess Anne’s unique connection with Lady Louise Windsor that isn’t shared with anyone else in the Royal Family

Princess Anne’s unique connection with Lady Louise Windsor is something that they don’t share with any of their fellow royals. 

• The Princess Royal and Lady Louise Windsor are the only members of the immediate Royal Family to have the name Louise either as a first or middle name.
• It’s possible they were named after two distant relatives and it’s intriguing that this is such a unique royal name choice.
• This royal news comes as Princess Beatrice’s “magical” birthday outfit accessory was revealed - and it’s a family favourite! 

Princess Anne recently celebrated her 73rd birthday privately and isn’t set to be back undertaking engagements until 29th August as she enjoys a well-deserved holiday. She could spend some of her break with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Balmoral and it’s thought that other royals might too - potentially including her niece Lady Louise. And although they’re not regularly seen together, Princess Anne’s unique connection with Lady Louise Windsor is something they don’t share with anybody else in the Royal Family…

Although she’s generally known only as Princess Anne or the Princess Royal, she was christened with the much longer full name Anne Elizabeth Louise. She and Lady Louise Windsor are the only royals to have Louise either as a first or middle name. According to Nameberry, Louise is the feminine form of Louis, which is contrastingly a very popular choice as a first and middle name in the Royal Family for many generations.

It reportedly means “renowned warrior” which is a strong name that could be seen as a very flattering choice for both Princess Anne and Lady Louise. Many of the other royal women have other middle names that they share with more distant relatives like Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. In light of this, Princess Anne could potentially have been given the middle name Louise in honour of another Princess Royal called Louise. 

Princess Louise was the sister of King George V and the great-aunt of Queen Elizabeth. It’s also possible that Louise was chosen after Prince Philip’s great-grandmother, Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Lady Louise Windsor could also have perhaps been partly named after Princess Anne, who is the closest relative to her with this name.

Aside from their name link which only they share, there is another connection between the two of them. Princess Anne and Lady Louise Windsor faced a big change earlier this year when Princess Eugenie’s second son was born. 

This is because they were both born before 2011 and so were leapfrogged in the royal line of succession by Ernest Brooksbank. The Succession to the Crown Act in 2013 changed the law so female royals born after 2011 would no longer be pushed down the succession by their brothers.

Both Princess Anne and Lady Louise are below their younger brothers succession-wise and the Princess Royal is just one place behind her niece at 17th. Nevertheless, she’s a prominent and dedicated working royal and King Charles is understood to have immense amount of trust in and respect for her. 

Unlike her aunt and her parents, Lady Louise isn’t expected to be a full-time working royal herself, but she’s currently preparing for the start of the second year of her English Literature degree at the University of St Andrews. Princess Anne was the first British royal woman to attend school and so seeing her niece pursuing further education is something she perhaps admires greatly.