Royal Family's "Secret Weapon" Is Following in Prince William and Kate Middleton's Footsteps With St. Andrews Romance
Who doesn't love a royal love story?
Everyone knows the story of how Prince William fell in love with fellow University of St. Andrews student Kate Middleton in the early 2000s, but it turns out there's another royal romance brewing in Scotland at the moment.
One of Queen Elizabeth's grandchildren has been called the Royal Family's "secret weapon," and now she's falling in her cousin Prince William's footsteps. Per the Telegraph, Lady Louise Windsor—who is the daughter of Queen Elizabeth's son, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie—is dating fellow St. Andrews student Felix da Silva-Clamp, as confirmed by a friend of the royal.
Hardworking Louise, who turned 21 on Nov. 8, seems to share similar values and interests with Silva-Clamp, 20. Like her dad, Prince Edward, Lady Louise is a theater buff and participates—along with Silva-Clamp—in the university's dramatic productions.
One of Louise's friends told the Telegraph that "she takes part in a lot of student theatre productions—she was in the chorus for a play called Dragon Fever, she was really good. The theatre isn’t massive, so it shows quite a lot of dedication that she’s part of it."
Despite coming from privileged backgrounds, both work student jobs to fund their college lifestyles.
One of Louise's friends told the Telegraph that even though her father is a bona fide prince, she “works a student job during the week, in the canteen." Felix—whose father "stood for election in 2010 as a Conservative candidate"— also works to fund his college lifestyle and "has a part-time job in a local ice cream parlor," per the outlet.
The fellow student said that Louise is “really grounded," adding, "whenever I see her she’s wearing understated clothes—you literally wouldn’t know at all that she’s a member of the Royal Family.”
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According to the Telegraph, Silva-Clamp has even met the parents. Louise, who is a competitive carriage driver like her late grandfather Prince Philip, has taken her boyfriend to the Sandringham Horse Trials. "There he met her proud parents, and seems to get on well with both the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh," the publication reported.
Since Felix grew up in Australia and his mother still lives there, she might be headed Down Under for her studies soon enough. "Sources say that Lady Louise, who can study abroad as part of her degree, is now considering Macquarie University in Australia so that she can travel with da Silva-Clamp," the Telegraph wrote.
Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.
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