Lady Louise Windsor, the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, was photographed with a male friend while attending a special competition.
The 20-year-old royal participated in the Sandringham Horse Driving Trials in Norfolk for the first time on Friday, supported by Felix da Silva-Clamp, a friend from St Andrews University in Scotland, where Lady Louise is studying English Literature.
Pictures on Facebook show them taking selfies and posing together at a student theatre party in St Andrews. Lady Louise, dressed in a black helmet, smart beige overcoat, and matching gloves, competed in a dressage event with one of Queen Elizabeth II’s ponies.
Clamp, in grey chinos and a blue jacket, arrived at the event with Lady Louise’s mother, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, who wore khaki skinny jeans, a khaki coat, and a light-blue jumper.
They watched Lady Louise’s performance in dressage and then walked around the carriage driving course together.
Lady Louise, niece of the King, frequently competes in carriage-driving competitions after her debut in the sport at age 17, three years ago.
“Felix and the Duchess looked very at ease with each other,” an onlooker commented. “They turned up in the car just ten minutes before Louise’s first event and watched her eagerly.”
Her passion for carriage driving was sparked by the late Prince Philip, her grandfather, who adored the sport and encouraged her to take it up.
Prince Philip took up carriage driving in his 50s after he was forced to give up polo.
He shared a special bond with Lady Louise because of the sport and left her his carriage when he died in 2021.
The young royal paid tribute to her grandfather’s legacy by taking part in a carriage-driving event in April last year, on the weekend of the anniversary of his death.
Earlier this year, the couple appeared together in a production called Dragon Fever at the university’s Byre Theatre.
This event comes as Louise accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to Trooping the Colour last month.
