Queen's Granddaughter Got Job in Garden Center for $8 per Hour & Drew Attention Years after Eye Operation

Lady Louise Windsor is already getting the hang of real-life hard work while waiting for her school results. Although she is a young royal and happens to be Queen Elizabeth II’s "favorite" grandchild, she earns a minimum wage.

Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, Lady Louise Windsor, spent the summer working near a minimum wage job at a garden center.

The youngster took on the job while waiting for her high school results. The scores secured her a place at St. Andrews University in Scotland, where she would study English.

Lady Louise, daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, would be following in her cousin Prince William’s footsteps by attending the same institution as him. The Duke of Cambridge graduated from St Andrews in 2005, where he also met his now-wife, Kate Middleton.

The news of the young royal working at a garden center has raised eyebrows among Britons because of her social status. A shopper at the garden center told the Independent it was bizarre to see someone from the Royal Family working there:

“I didn’t think I’d ever see a grandchild of the Queen working in a garden center.”

Per, The Sun, Her Royal Highness worked at the unnamed center numerous days a week after finishing high school. She reportedly helped out by pruning and potting plants, including greeting customers, and working on the tills.

Still, Lady Lousie's initiative has caused disbelief among Britain citizens, particularly one customer who was served by her, telling the outlet:

“I couldn’t believe it was Lady Lousie – I had to look twice.”

Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, deemed it admirable for the teenager to decide to get herself an ordinary job before starting with the next chapter of her life in varsity, just like her peers:

Seward said it was "wonderful" that Her Majesty's "granddaughter rolled her sleeves up and got her hands dirty in a summer job."

Notably, the minimum wage for 18-year-olds is $8 an hour, and Lady Lousie reportedly earns just that per hour.

LADY LOUSIE HAS EYE HEALTH ISSUES

Besides being independent, when she was only 18 months old, the eldest child of the Wessexes underwent major eye surgery. Lady Lousie was born with esotropia, a rare eye condition, per Hello Magazine.

According to Britain's National Health Service (NHS), the condition causes strabismus, in one eye that turns inwards. The teen's mother, Sophie, once revealed to Sunday Express that esotropia affects premature infants because eyes are the last to be developed during gestation.

The Countess of Wessex’s daughter underwent a surgical procedure to improve her eyesight. However, the process was futile. Sophie revealed that Lady Lousie's crossed eye was acute when she was still a baby.

She explained that the condition takes some time to fix, adding they had to make certain that one eye did not become more predominant than the other.

However, the doting mom ensured that her child got another chance to make a second attempt with the operation. That eventually occurred in 2014 when Lousie was only ten years old, and this time, it was a success: “She’s fine now – her eyesight is perfect," said Sophie.

According to NHS, there are other treatments the Royal Family could have gone for instead of surgery, such as “glasses and patching."

LADY LOUSIE’S PARENTS WANT A NORMAL LIFE FOR HER

Lady Lousie, who is 16th in line to the British throne, has a younger brother named James Viscount Severn. According to their mother, the royal siblings are to live their lives as adults without using their titles.

The Mirror reported in June 2020 that Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said it was improbable that her kids would use their HRH titles when they grow up.

She and her husband, Earl of Wessex, agreed to give their brood a “normal” life, despite their royal status. The mother of two divulged that their kids were raised knowing that they would have to work to make a living.

Sophie stated that although her son and daughter have their titles, they could independently choose to use them from age eighteen:

“But I think it’s highly unlikely.”

The former secretary added her children attend a normal school, go to their friends' parties and go for sleepovers. In addition, the family of four walk their pet dogs during weekends.

Sophie emphasized that although not every grandparent "lives in a castle, where you are going is not the important part, or who they are," she said, adding that whenever her children are with the monarch, she is simply "their grandmother.”

In September 2019, a royal insider told The Sun that the monarch adores Lousie and the pair seem to have developed a close relationship during their visit to Balmoral.

Her Majesty and her granddaughter spent some quality time together for three days and even went horse riding together. The source revealed that Her Majesty loved that both her granddaughter and grandson enjoyed their time at the Scottish estate.

“The Queen has become particularly close to Lousie, who seems to have become her favorite grandchild.

The bond between Lady Lousie and the royal matriarch became apparent when the Queen made a public appearance following months of scarcity in May 2022 to support her.

The sovereign attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show to watch her beloved grandchild participate in the horse riding carriage. The event marked the centenary of the Fell Pony Society in a carriage display.

Lady Lousie is a horse lover, like her world-famous grandmother, and has frequently been photographed horse riding around the Queen of England's several estates.

Royal historian Marlene Koenig once praised the Queen’s relationship with the Wessex kids in an interview with Express, adding the eldest child of the Earl and Countess was just as devoted to her late grandfather, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh.

“Look how good the relationship the Queen has with Lady Lousie and Viscount Severn. They’re very close, and Lousie was very close to her grandfather,” the royal expert said.