The younger members of the Royal Family were out in force yesterday at Buckingham Palace for a garden party hosted by Prince William, the fourth of this season.
The future King invited his cousins Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall and her husband Mike, with the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also joining the party.
However two young royals were notably absent – Lady Louise, 20, and her 16-year-old brother James, the Earl of Wessex, the children of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
Louise and James are regular fixtures at most royal events such as Trooping the Colour, Christmas Day church service and King Charles’s Coronation last May.
But it seems their academic commitments kept them away from the Palace this time, as the garden party fell at a crucial time during the school year.
The Edinburgh children are still at university and school respectively, and were likely hard at work studying for exams when the garden party took place.
Louise is just about to complete her second year studying English Literature at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, the same institution where Prince William met Princess Kate over 20 years ago.
The 20-year-old enrolled on the course in September 2022 after finishing her A-Levels, and while her results were not made public the entrance requirements for St Andrews are usually AAA.
Although their parents are both senior working royals, it seems unlikely that such a destiny awaits either Louise or James, according to a royal expert.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! magazine about James: “James is currently gearing up for the first big test of his school life….his GCSEs.
“Like most 16-year-olds, it’s a tough time for him – although it’s unlikely that his results will be made public. That’s in tune with the rest of his upbringing where his parents have tried very hard to allow James as normal an upbringing as possible – given his heritage.
“I think we can expect James to follow his ambitions and not necessarily take the traditional royal route of military service. He will probably try for University and then work out a career path.”
