Lady Louise Windsor, the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, was pictured sporting her new military uniform after taking up the extra-curricular activity at the University of St Andrews

Lady Louise Windsor is following in her grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s military footsteps as she takes on her university’s Officer Training Course. Lady Louise, 21, studies English at St Andrews University in Fife where she has joined the extra-curricular activity on the side of her demanding degree.

She was pictured wearing face camouflage, decked out in combat gear and holding a helmet labelled “Windsor”. Her grandmother would no doubt be proud as she follows in her military footsteps.

The late Queen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1945, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services as a full-time active member. If Lady Louise, who is 16th in line to the throne, chooses to follow in her footsteps, she will be the first female member of the family to do so since her grandmother.

Lady Louise has taken on the extra-curricular activity at St Andrews University ( 
Image:
standrewsuotc/Instagram)
The late Queen was not given a special rank and started out as a second subaltern, working on driving and vehicle maintenance. She was later promoted to junior commander, the equivalent of a captain, before earning herself the nickname “Princess Auto Mechanic” after pictures emerged of her working on vehicles.

More images shared by the Tayforth University Officers’ Training Corps (TUOTC) on social media show Lady Louise standing by the Union Flag in a brown jacket and tartan skirt. One source told The Sun: “Louise has loved every minute of being a member of the officer cadets at university.

“She talks about being very keen on a career in the military, serving the King and country. She’s received basic Army officer training and is more determined than ever to serve in the future.

“She fitted the officer training corps around her studies and has benefited hugely from the skills that she has been taught. She is all about the Army cadets and has fallen in love with it.”

Lady Louise had a close bond to her grandparents and was the first royal to officially carry the late Duke of Edinburgh’s Mountbatten surname. Taking on military duties in the royal family is not uncommon.

Lady Louise was said to be very close to her grandparents ( 
Image:
standrewsuotc/Instagram)

Lady Louise is 16th in line to the throne ( 
Image:
standrewsuotc/Instagram)

Both Prince William and Prince Harry have taken on military roles in the past. The Prince of Wales completed a 44-week training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned as an army officer in December 2006.

Meanwhile, Harry completed two operational tours of Afghanistan during his 10-year military course, and went on to found the Invictus Games that supports injured or sick veterans. In 2007, he was deployed to the Gelmand province where he served as a forward air controller, before qualifying as a co-pilot gunner in 2012 and deploying to Camp Bastion.

In addition to her basic weapons training, Lady Louise will undergo leadership lessons and a “course in navigating tough terrain under pressure”.