King Charles‘ desire for a slimmed-down monarchy has long been a subject of debate among royal watchers.

For many, the European royal model of focusing on a smaller number of key players is the favoured option – but with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew all stepping back from royal duty – the fold has shrunk rapidly – and now there are just 11 working members of the Firm.

And of those current working members have an average age of 70 – with the Prince and Princess of Wales the only working members under 60.

So it’s no wonder royal experts have thought Prince William may look to his Generation Z cousin Lady Louise Windsor to breathe some fresh air into the monarchy.

Lady Louise, 21, is currently in fourth year of an English degree at William and Kate’s alma mater St. Andrews, and may take on some royal responsibilities when she graduates.

Louise’s parents, the Duke of Edinburgh, 61, and his wife Sophie, 60, are the second youngest pair in the Firm and are becoming increasingly popular and high-profile.

In fact, royal author and expert Christopher Wilson recently described Lady Louise as the ‘dark-horse contender’.

Mr Wilson added that among the younger royals William could call upon for help are his cousin Zara Phillips, who is highly popular – however, she has a business and life outside royal life.

Looking at the prince’s cousins Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, while it appeared at one point that they may play a greater role in public royal life, further recent scandals that have emerged surrounding their parents the Duke and Duchess of York could rule that out.

At some point, William and his wife Kate’s three children may take on a greater public role, but it appears the Wales are keen to keep their children’s lives as ‘normal’ as possible for as long as they can.

In any case, while the future king-but-one, Prince George, 12, may step onto the public stage after university (which will be around 2034), his younger siblings Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven, may not choose to become full-time royals.

There is Lady Louise’s younger brother James, 17, but little is known about the teenager who is currently a pupil at Radley, the Berkshire public school.

And when it comes to Lady Louise, she has some interesting links between Prince William – not least of which, they both appear popular with the public.

Among them, Lady Louise followed in the Prince of Wales’s footsteps by enrolling in St Andrews University – where William met his now-wife Kate.

It was confirmed that Lady Louise was going to attend the Scottish University in the Autumn of 2022.

The university student, who cemented herself within the eyes of royal watchers thanks to her position as the late Prince Philip’s ‘favourite grandchild’.

However, unlike her cousin, Lady Louise was able to be more shielded from the public gaze when she was young, but she has reportedly long been dear to the heart of the Royal Family and was particularly close to her late grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Lady Louise was their seventh grandchild. And for Philip, she brought not just joy but a sense of personal pride.

This was because she became the first royal to officially carry the surname Mountbatten-Windsor – so allowing Philip’s surname, Mountbatten, to continue into the future of the Royal family.

A former aide said Philip would be ‘thrilled’ that, 55 years after the birth of his first child, a member of the Royal Family would finally be carrying on the Mountbatten line.

Lady Louise was baptised in the private chapel at Windsor with godparents including Lady Sarah Chatto, Lady Alexandra Etherington, Mrs Francesca Schwarzenbach and Mr Rupert Elliott as well as Lord Ivar Mountbatten.

The young royal shared a love of carriage driving with the late Duke of Edinburgh, who was instrumental in helping to establish the activity as a sport in Britain.

Following his retirement, Philip had more time to enjoy carriage-driving, which was one of his favourite past-times since the 1970s.

He raced carriages near Norfolk before going on to represent Britain at several world and European championships.

Sophie previously revealed that Prince Philip was ‘so pleased’ when his granddaughter wanted to take up the sport.

‘My father-in-law was always so good at encouraging, he was really encouraging of Lady Louise. So when she not only said “please can I have a go”, but then when she showed a flair for it, he was just brilliant with her,’ she said.

‘They used to chat away about it and he would always turn up if she was competing in the Great Park, he would always turn up to watch her and watch her training days.’

Lady Louise paid tribute to her grandfather’s legacy by taking part in a carriage-driving event in April 2022on the weekend of the anniversary of his death.

In the September of that year, after the late Queen’s death, Lady Louise looked sombre as she joined other members of the royal family to attend a memorial church service in Balmoral.

Lady Louise, who has also previously been described as Her Majesty’s ‘favourite’ grandchild and a ‘secret weapon’ for the Firm, was just one of royals making a public appearance in tribute to the monarch.

She had been front and centre in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations that year, joined her parents at the Commonwealth Games and made her successful TV debut in a documentary about her beloved grandfather.

In 2011, she was a bridesmaid at the wedding of William and Kate.

In 2022, it was revealed that Lady Louise had been working at a garden centre over the summer before heading to university, earning £6.63 per hour.

From as far back as 2021, Lady Louise has been tipped to be the slimmed down monarchy’s ‘secret weapon’ who could ‘continue the royal family’s legacy’.

Phil Dampier, who has written about the Firm for 35 years, told the Telegraph‘s royal editor Camilla Tominey that Lady Louise is ‘mature’ for her age, and is progressing to become ‘precisely the kind of person the Queen can rely on’.

‘You have to ask yourself who is going to continue their legacy with Harry and Meghan and Prince Andrew off the scene? There’s a huge workload there’, he said.

Speaking to FEMAIL that year, royal author Ingrid Seward explained Lady Louise, the Queen’s youngest granddaughter, has ‘always been an asset’ to the royal family and is ‘very polite’ which Her Majesty ‘loves’.

Meanwhile, writing in his Palace Confidential newsletter last yearthe Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden expressed that contribution from the Duke of Edinburgh and his family ‘has never been more important’.

‘Although way down the line of succession, in 14th place, the Duke of Edinburgh is busier, and more prominent, than ever as he carries out duties while his eldest brother, King Charles, is undergoing treatment for cancer.’

‘Edward and his wife, Sophie, are often overlooked because they don’t seem to court attention from the media and appear happy to undertake their numerous royal engagements and foreign visits quietly and without fuss.’

He continued: ‘In my opinion, another great service the couple could do for the country would be to encourage their children, Lady Louise and James, the Earl of Wessex, to become working royals when the time is right.

‘Louise, 20, is in her second year at St Andrews University, while James, 16, will sit his GCSE exams this year.

‘When Prince William becomes King, I hope that he will follow the example of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and ask his cousins, including Lady Louise and James, to share royal duties with him.

‘Hopefully, William will realise that a “slimmed-down” monarchy wouldn’t safeguard the institution, as some claim, but would lead to its irrelevance and eventual death.

‘What better way to build on its strengths than with an injection of energy from young people who have had values of public service and duty instilled in them from birth?’