Lady Louise’s life-altering decision as Sophie Wessex says it’s up to her

Lady Louise's life-altering decision is hurtling towards her and like many people in her position, it all comes down to choosing to step into tertiary education or not. 

• Lady Louise's life-altering decision is a fork in the road that could dictate her entire future.
• The young royal may follow in her cousins' footsteps and take on huge adventures.
• In other royal news, Kate Middleton’s ‘astute and engaging questions’ at mental health charity impress royal fans

Being a member of the Royal Family can have its limitations when it comes to personal freedom. For instance, Lady Louise's future is to be decided by her uncle Prince Charles but, outside of royal duties, the youngster has a huge choice to make that is hers and hers alone—university.

Discussing her daughter's studies, Sophie, Countess of Wessex revealed that the Queen's studious granddaughter studied English, History, Politics, and Drama at AS-Level. 

Sophie also said, while appearing on BBC Radio 5, that she doesn't want to be a meddling mum or try and dictate her daughter's decisions.

“I have to let her live her life,” she said. “It’s not mine to live. I can only equip her the best that I can, and then she has to make her own choices.”

Prince Edward and Countess Sophie have always made it clear that they're bringing up their children with the knowledge that they'll have to work. On top of this, they've also kept them largely out of the public eye.

Echoing this sentiment on her radio appearance, Sophie added, “But I hope for the next few years, at least, she will still be able to be as private as she wants to be.”

This all changed quite dramatically, though, when Lady Louise Windsor became the 'royal family's secret weapon,' after her appearance on the BBC's Prince Philip documentary The young royal stepped into the limelight with such ease that many believe she's the future of the Royal Family.

As well as her studies, the young royal has other passions, including carriage riding, so it's unclear if she'll continue to study at all. However, according to reports she's also a brilliant student. On top of this, there's always the chance she'll take a gap year—like her cousins before her.

Prince William spent three months in Chile, for example, working on community projects with Raleigh International, among other various jobs and hobbies during that time. 

Per the BBC, Prince Harry also took his gap year, spending time working on a ranch in southern Queensland. During his year off he also visited Aids orphans in Lesotho, which paved the way for the charity he set up there years later. 

As her mother Countess Sophie says, Lady Louise is 'a lot more fortunate' than her cousins, as being lower down the official royal line of succession means that she's able to make more unusual choices.

Although it remains to see what those choices will be, the popular young royal has legions of fans rooting for her.