Lady Louise ‘keen on military career’ after joining officer training corps

Tom McArdle
·2-min read
Lady Louise Windsor, bottom right, with the A Squadron St Andrews University students
Lady Louise Windsor, bottom right, with the A Squadron of St Andrews University students - Instagram

Lady Louise Windsor is following in Queen Elizabeth II’s military footsteps after taking part in her university’s Officer Training Course.

The 21-year-old daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, studies English at St Andrews University in Fife and has been pictured wearing face camouflage, combat gear and holding a helmet labelled “Windsor”.

Lady Louise is 16th in line to the throne. If she did choose a military career, she would be the first female royal since her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to do so.

Other images, shared by the Tayforth University Officers’ Training Corps (TUOTC) on social media, show Lady Louise standing by the Union Flag in a brown jacket and tartan skirt.

Lady Louise, bottom left, poses with her peers in an image shared by Tayforth University Officers' Training Corps
Lady Louise, bottom left, poses with her peers in an image shared by Tayforth University Officers’ Training Corps

One source told The Sun: “Louise has loved every minute of being a member of the officer cadets at university.

“She talks about being very keen on a career in the military, serving the King and country.

“She’s received basic Army officer training and is more determined than ever to serve in the future.

“She fitted the officer training corps around her studies and has benefited hugely from the skills that she has been taught.

“She is all about the Army cadets and has fallen in love with it.”

Lady Louise, far left, is said to have 'fallen in love' with the Army cadets
Lady Louise, far left, is said to have ‘fallen in love’ with the Army cadets

Lady Louise is said to have enjoyed a special relationship with both of her grandparents – the late Queen and Prince Philip.

She also became the first royal to officially carry the late Duke of Edinburgh’s Mountbatten surname, ensuring his name can continue with her Mountbatten-Windsor

Elizabeth II was a princess when she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a subaltern in 1945, learning to drive and maintain vehicles.

She became the first royal to officially carry the late Duke of Edinburgh's Mountbatten surname
Lady Louise became the first royal to officially carry the late Duke of Edinburgh’s Mountbatten surname - Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Elsewhere, Prince William completed a 44-week training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned as an Army officer in Dec 2006.

Prince Harry completed two operational tours of Afghanistan during his 10-year military career.

In 2007, he was deployed to Helmand province where he served as a forward air controller, before qualifying as a co-pilot gunner in 2012 and deploying to Camp Bastion.

The Ministry of Defence said: “The UOTC provides a standard of experience and training that’s well respected within the Army.”