Move over William and Kate: The new royal romance at St Andrews

Lady Louise Windsor, 16th in line to the British throne, has reportedly found love at the University of St Andrews where she is studying English literature. Photo / Getty
Just like the Prince and Princess of Wales, Lady Louise Windsor has found love at university – and could help shape the future of the royals.
Is royal romance blossoming once again at venerable Scottish university St Andrews?
Famously the place where Prince William met Kate back in the early 2000s, two decades on, this historic establishment – long a favourite of the royal family – is now the picturesque backdrop to another eye-catching love story: that of Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh), and fellow student Felix da Silva-Clamp.
Windsor, the youngest niece of King Charles III and 16th in line to the throne, and who celebrated her 21st birthday on November 8, began reading English literature at St Andrews in 2022. In doing so, she has followed in the educational footsteps of her cousin Prince William, a geography student, and his wife, Catherine, who read history of art. It seems as though history is repeating itself in another way too: Lady Louise has similarly been juggling her studies with a flourishing relationship.
Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and her friend Felix da Silva-Clamp attend the Sandringham Horse Trials 2024, in Norfolk, England 🏇🏻 -June 30th 2024..#LadyLouise #LadyLouiseMountbattenWindsor #FelixdaSilvaClamp #England pic.twitter.com/bCQcNx4W55
The object of her affection is da Silva-Clamp, 20, who looks to share Prince Harry’s red hair and cheeky charm. Da Silva-Camp has a part-time job in a local ice cream parlour, a down-to-earth quality that clearly chimes with Lady Louise, who spent her university break in 2022 working at a Surrey garden centre, where she helped customers, rung up items on the tills, and tended to the plants, all for £6.63 ($14.37) an hour.
One impressed customer commented: “The staff seemed to adore her. It’s not every day you buy your begonias off a royal.”
An acquaintance of Lady Louise, who also attends St Andrews, says that her royal pal’s university experience has been surprisingly normal. “She works a student job during the week, in the canteen, and she takes part in a lot of student theatre productions – she was in the chorus for a play called Dragon Fever, she was really good. The theatre isn’t massive, so it shows quite a lot of dedication that she’s part of it.”
The student newspaper, The Saint, reviewed Dragon Fever, “an ambitious cross between an Agatha Christie mystery and Tolkien’s The Hobbit”, in January, praising Lady Louise’s “compelling performance” in the role of a powerful witch.
Also in the cast was da Silva-Clamp, playing “an impressionable and naive young squire”, which won him the award for Best Scene Stealer.
Lady Louise is fond of reeling, says her fellow student: “She finds Scottish dancing really fun. The reeling balls are lovely – everyone always wants to be her partner because she’s a really good dancer. She does a lot with the cadet force as well.”
Lady Louise is dedicated to her course, they add, and keen to be considered a regular member of the student community. “She’s really grounded, whenever I see her she’s wearing understated clothes – you literally wouldn’t know at all that she’s a member of the royal family.”
St Andrews suits Lady Louise perfectly, as it has countless other royal students (including Princess Margaret’s grandson Sam Chatto), her friend explains, partly because of its remote location. It’s situated on the coast in the Fife region, which helps to protect her privacy. “You don’t have a train station, it’s only really accessible by bus, so you’re kept incredibly safe. The town is basically a student town. It’s a friendly place, easy to get involved.”
Though St Andrews is considered to be rather less ferociously academic than Oxbridge, it still attracts serious students, her fellow student adds. “Louise did well at school and she really wanted to be stretched.”
Lady Louise can now add a student romance to her growing list of the usual university experiences – and, again following William and Kate’s example, she has chosen a sympatico fellow student who comes from a respected but non-royal family.