Lady Louise Windsor will reportedly inherit Prince Philip’s carriage and horses.
The 17-year-old royal – who is the daughter of Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex – was taught carriage driving by her late grandfather and shared his passion for the sport, and now it’s been claimed she will be ensuring his legacy lives on into the future.
Sources told the Daily Mail newspaper that Louise will inherit the dark green aluminium-and-steel carriage – which was made to the Duke of Edinburgh’s specifications eight years ago – and will continue to put his two ponies, Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm, through their paces at Windsor Castle.
The two fell ponies were seen at Philip’s funeral on Saturday (17.04.21) pulling his carriage, on which lay his driving cap, gloves, blanket, and even the red-lidded plastic tub he kept their sugar lump rewards in.
The duke, who died earlier this month aged 99, took up carriage-driving in 1971 after arthritis in his wrist put paid to his polo-playing days.
He is credited with shaping the sport in the UK and represented Britain in six world championships and three European championships, still competing professionally into his 80s.
Philip previously wrote about his love of the sport: “I am getting old, my reactions are getting slower, and my memory is unreliable, but I have never lost the sheer pleasure of driving a team through the British countryside.”
Louise paid tribute to her and her grandfather’s shared passion at his funeral at the weekend by accessorising her outfit with an equestrian brooch, which featured a horse’s head and a curled whip.
In 2019, Philip was pictured proudly watching Louise earn third place in the Private Driving Singles carriage drive during the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
Sophie has previously said of her daughter’s carriage-driving talents: “She is naturally so good at it, she really is. It’s something that she has taken to very well.”
