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Lady Louise Windsor pays touching tribute to grandpa Prince Philip by taking his ponies carriage driving

The 17-year-old was spotted carriage driving on the grounds of Windsor Castle on the morning of Prince Philip's death. Louise was participating in the hobby she shared with her grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, who helped establish it as a sport

Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, the daughter of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, paid a touching tribute to her grandfather Prince Philip. The 17-year-old royal was spotted carriage driving on the grounds of Windsor Castle on the morning of his death. The carriage and two ponies are thought to be Philip's.

Louise was participating in the hobby that she reportedly shared with her grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, who was instrumental in helping to establish carriage driving as a sport in Britain. Her appearance came just hours before the Queen announced the death of her husband at the age of 99. Louise is the seventh grandchild and youngest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. She is reportedly 14th in the line of succession to the British throne.

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Prince Philip, speaking at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in the past, where he was a regular competitor, spoke of carriage driving, saying: “I started driving because I’d been playing polo and I decided I would give up polo when I was 50. And I was looking around to see what next and what there was available. And I suddenly thought we’ve got horses and carriages so why don’t I have a go?”

Prince Philip developed the rules of the sport and was instrumental in getting the three-day event included in the Windsor Show in the 1970s. He also represented Britain in three European and six World Championships, finishing sixth overall in the 1982 World Championships. On one occasion in Windsor, he reportedly lost control of the ponies -- he was thrown from the carriage along with his grooms. He wasn’t injured but the royal carriages were damaged. 

In an old interview, Prince Philip once said: “Some optimists tend to assume that, once you have learned the lesson that horses bite at one end and kick at the other, there is nothing further to worry about -- no such luck, I am afraid. That is only lesson one in a learning process that goes on as long as you are mug enough to continue to associate with horses.”

The Duke of Edinburgh passed away on April 9, 2021. He was transferred to St Bartholomew's Hospital on March 1, almost two weeks after he was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital, where he was admitted as a "precautionary measure" on February 16. Buckingham Palace had announced at the time that the Duke required observation for an existing heart condition.

For the past several months, Prince Philip had been staying at Windsor Castle after a brief stay in his home at Wood Farm in Sandringham in the summer of 2020. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II had received the Covid-19 vaccinations earlier this year which were administered by a household doctor at Windsor Castle. 

He is survived by his wife, his children, including the Prince of Wales, Charles, Princess Royal, Anne, Duke of York, Prince Andrew, Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, his grandchildren, who include Princes William and Harry, as well as his great-grandchildren.