The secret way Lady Louise features in the Wessex Christmas card

The Wessex Christmas card doesn't include images of Lady Louise or James Viscount Severn for the second year in a row. Despite this, Sophie Wessex and Prince Edward's firstborn was actually involved in one of the most touching images in the card - in a very unexpected way.

• One of the images of the Queen and Prince Philip that feature in the card was taken by Sophie Wessex - who was pregnant with Lady Louise at the time.
• The Wessex Christmas card pays tribute to the Queen and Prince Philip's memory and fans have dubbed it a hit.
• In other royal news, We can't wait to copy the Queen's GENIUS way of eating mince pies this Christmas.

For the last two years, Lady Louise wasn't in the Wessex Christmas card nor was her brother, the youngest of the late Queen’s grandchildren, James, Viscount Severn. In fact, speculation about why the rarely-seen royal James, Viscount Severn probably wouldn't appear on Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex’s Christmas card this year has already been brewing.

Unexpectedly, this year, the family's festive missive includes a gentle nod to their only daughter, as Sophie Countess Wessex was expecting when she took the adorable snap of her late parents-in-law, which features inside.

The Wessex Christmas card has the heartbreaking inscription, “In memory of happy days," and is accompanied by two images of joyous family moments. The main image on the front of the card is of the Countess and Prince Edward, alongside the Queen in the months before her passing. The shot was taken in Scotland at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in June 2022, when the couple and the Queen attended the Ceremony of the Keys.

In the second image, the Scottish theme continues as the now famous shot of Prince Philip and the Queen sitting smiling in Balmoral Castle features. The snap in question was taken by Sophie, who subsequently revealed why it's especially precious to her.

Following the passing of Prince Philip, the Countess opened up during a candid interview with Naga Munchetty on the radio show BBC Five Live in June 2021.

Addressing the grief following her father-in-law's passing she said, "I mean, we were lucky enough to go to Scotland for half-term, and I don't know if you remember the photograph that I took. I was pregnant with Louise at the time, and we went up there, during half-term," she said, pausing to compose herself as she became emotional. "And just to be there, in that place, was an, 'Oh my God' moment. Um, so I think they'll come and go, but you have to let them come, and let them go."

Lady Louise Windsor’s birth marked a turning point for Prince Philip, which many credit with her closeness to her grandparents. In recent years, as her popularity has increased, many have wondered why isn't Lady Louise a Princess. However, as Lady Louise's future plans were revealed earlier this year, it appears that the future is bright for the young royal - no matter what title she chooses.