Queen Elizabeth's Favorite Grandchild Is Not Prince William Or Harry

Queen Elizabeth II adored all eight of her grandchildren, but she was believed to have had a favorite among them.

While Prince William and Prince Harry may be the most well-known among her grandchildren, Lady Louise Windsor, the 18-year-old daughter of Queen Elizabeth's youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, was thought to have been the late monarch's favorite, according to Reader's Digest.

This reportedly came after Lady Louise spent several weeks with her grandmother at Queen Elizabeth's Scottish estate Balmoral in the summer of 2021, according to the publication.

Several royal family members joined Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral each year when the monarch stayed at her residence in the Scottish Highlands during her annual vacation.

But Lady Louise, who is 15th in the line of succession to the British throne, was said to have been the late British ruler's "most-loved guest" at the estate during the summer of 2019, helping take Queen Elizabeth's mind off the controversy surrounding Prince Andrew's ties with Jeffrey Epstein at the time, The Sun reported.

At the time, Lady Louise spent a lot of quality time with her grandmother, and they enjoyed gentle horse rides in the hills above the castle.

The teen and her family, including her now-14-year-old brother James, Viscount Severn, stayed at the Scottish estate for at least 10 days during that summer, according to the outlet.

"The Queen loves the fact that Louise and James relish their time at Balmoral, and she has become particularly close to Louise, who seems to have become her favorite grandchild, closely followed by James," an unnamed insider close to the royal family told the outlet at the time.

The royal insider continued, "Louise also endeared herself to everyone by looking after William and Kate's children when they were up here. [She] loves drawing and sketching and was very patiently trying to get [Kate Middleton and Prince William's daughter Princess] Charlotte to do pictures of rabbits and deer."

Due to Lady Louise's artistic skills, Queen Elizabeth reportedly had allowed her to look through some of the collection of Queen Victoria's Highlands sketches that were kept inside the castle, according to the royal insider.

Lady Louise is the first royal to use the surname "Mountbatten-Windsor" despite all royal family members having this surname. She has the hereditary right to use the title "HRH Princess," but she has not exercised the option yet even after turning 18 in 2021.

She is currently studying English at St. Andrews University, the same school in Scotland where her cousin Prince William met and fell in love with his wife Duchess Kate two decades ago, People reported.

Queen Elizabeth died peacefully Thursday afternoon at Balmoral, where she had spent much of the summer, Buckingham Palace announced. She was 96.

She was succeeded immediately by her eldest son, Charles, 73, who will now be the monarch.

In a statement obtained by the BBC, King Charles III said the death of his mother was a "moment of great sadness" for him and his family and that her loss would be "deeply felt" around the world.