Prince Louis of Wales (/ˈluːi/ LOO-ee;[1] Louis Arthur Charles; born 23 April 2018) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third and youngest child of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. A grandson of Charles III, he is fourth in the line of succession to the British throne.
Prince Louis | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Prince Louis of Cambridge 23 April 2018 St Mary's Hospital, London, England | ||||
| |||||
House | Windsor | ||||
Father | William, Prince of Wales | ||||
Mother | Catherine Middleton |
Prince Louis was born at 11:01 BST on 23 April 2018 in St Mary's Hospital, London, during the reign of his paternal great-grandmother Elizabeth II, as the third child and second son of Prince William and Catherine, then known as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.[2][3][4] His birth was marked by gun salutes and bell ringings.[5] On 27 April, his name was announced as Louis Arthur Charles,[6] honouring his paternal grandfather, Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), and his 3rd-great-uncle Louis, Earl Mountbatten of Burma.[7] Louis was christened on 9 July by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace.[8]
Louis and his family lived at Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall during his early childhood.[9] He made his Trooping the Colour debut in 2019.[10] He started at Willcocks Nursery School near Kensington Palace in April 2021.[9]
The family relocated to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park in 2022,[11][12] after which he started attending Lambrook, an independent preparatory school in Berkshire, along with his older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.[13][14]
Louis also accompanied his siblings and parents for Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.[15] Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 and Louis's grandfather became king. Accordingly, Louis became fourth in line to the throne.[16][17] He accompanied his parents and elder siblings to his grandfather's coronation on 6 May 2023.[18]
Louis is a British prince with the official style and title "His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Wales".[19] Before his father was created Prince of Wales on 9 September 2022, Louis was styled "His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge".[20]
Louis is fourth in the line of succession to the British throne, behind his father and two elder siblings, George and Charlotte.[2] Following the implementation of the Perth Agreement, which replaced male-preference primogeniture with absolute primogeniture, he is the first British prince to be ranked behind an elder sister in the line of succession.[21]
Lou-ee not Lou-iss