Lady Louise Windsor missed out on one major royal benefit in the line of succession unlike Princess Charlotte.
Lady Louise – who is now 21 years old – was eighth in line to the throne at the time of her birth in November 2003.
After the birth of her younger brother in December 2007, Louise was moved down in the line of succession – and James, Earl of Wessex took eighth place.
This was due to the fact that the line of succession was regulated by male-preference primogeniture at the time, which meant a younger son would overtake an elder daughter in the line of succession.
However, the Succession to the Crown Act was introduced in 2013, just three months before the Princess of Wales gave birth to Prince George. This established that males born after October 28, 2011 no longer precede their elder sister in line.
With the law having been bought into play two years prior to her birth, Princess Charlotte was not moved down the line of succession following the birth of Prince Louis in 2018.
Much like Charlotte, the position in the line to the throne of Zara Tindall’s daughters – Mia, 10, and Lena, six – was also unaffected following the birth of their younger brother in 2021.
Mia, who will celebrate her 11th birthday later this month, is currently 22nd in the line of succession.
Following the birth of Lucas, who is currently 24th in the line of succession, Lena’s remained 23rd in line.
At the time of their children’s births, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – who were married in 1999 – agreed with the late Queen that their daughter and son would be styled as children of an Earl rather than a Prince.
Although they were previously known as Lady Louise Mountbatten Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, James’s title changed to James, Earl of Wessex when Prince Edward became the new Duke of Edinburgh on his 59th birthday in March 2023.
Louise and James were given HRH titles at birth which they could choose to use when they turned 18 – so far, Louise has chosen not to do so.
