Queen's granddaughter Lady Louise Windsor is earning $8 an hour working at GARDEN CENTER
LONDON, ENGLAND: The Queen's granddaughter, Lady Louise Windsor, 18, has been working several days a week at a garden center over the summer for a near minimum wage. Lady Louise has been waiting for her A-level results, which came in on August 18, and has earned a place at St Andrews University. The daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex has been earning $8 per hour since finishing her A-levels in June, despite living in a $35.7 million mansion in Bagshot Park, Surrey. Lady Louise Windsor helped out on the tills, greeted customers, and pruned and potted plants while at work.
“I couldn’t believe it was Lady Louise, I had to look twice," a shopper told The Sun. "She is a really modest and sweet young woman who is polite and attentive to customers. She seemed to be loving the job. You’d never imagine the Queen’s granddaughter would take on a role working behind a till.” Another quipped, “I knew the cost-of-living crisis was bad, but I didn’t think I’d ever see a grandchild of the Queen working in a garden center.” One customer added, “The staff seemed to adore her. It’s not every day you buy your begonias off a royal.”
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The minimum wage for 18-year-olds in the UK is currently $8 an hour. As Louise has limited work experience, it is unlikely she was paid much more than that, despite being 16th in line to the throne. Lady Louise, who rejected the chance to become a working member of the royal family when she turned 18, is not expected to return to the garden center as she prepares to move north of the border.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said: “Isn’t it wonderful the Queen’s granddaughter rolled her sleeves up and got her hands dirty with a summer job before going to university, just like any other normal teenager.” Louise was with her family and the Queen, 96, at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands when she received her results yesterday. Lady Louise follows in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as she is set to study English at St Andrews University in Fife this autumn. It is thought that Louise took A-levels in English, history, politics, and drama. Palace aides haven't revealed her grades.
However, to study English BA at St Andrews, undergraduates must get at least two As and two Bs. The 18-year-old recently joined her parents and brother James, Viscount Severn, 14, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Lady Louise has inherited her love of carriage driving from her late grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, who personally taught her the sport. She rides on a competitive basis and will no doubt want to continue with her hobby through university.
The schoolgirl was among the thousands of students who were affected when the A-level exams were canceled last year. Tens of thousands of Britain’s students were battling for a university place through Clearing after the A-level grades they received were down over the past two years, but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Some 20,360 pupils across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland found out that they were unplaced and therefore eligible for Clearing, based on exam results. This total was up by 46 percent compared to the 2021 figure of 13,930 - when students were assessed by teachers - but down on the last pre-pandemic figure of 24,260 in 2019. Lady Louise was among those fortunate enough to secure a place and will join freshers at St Andrews.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge first met each other at St Andrews. William and Kate both lived in St Salvator’s, known as Sallies, where they came to know each other as friends before romance bloomed. They both initially enrolled to study History of Art but William later switched to geography. The couple went public with their relationship shortly before they graduated. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to the campus last year to mark their tenth wedding anniversary.
Lady Louise played a starring role in Trooping the Colour during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration before making her appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside the Queen. The teenager enjoys a close relationship with her grandmother and is taking on an increasingly public role within the royal family.