Why Lady Louise Windsor pays £9k/year more for university fees compared to fellow students

Lady Louise Windsor, 22, is currently studying English at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Despite being King Charles’ niece, she still has to pay full tuition fees for her place there. Plus, it may surprise you to learn that her university bill is actually way higher than some of her peers!

Prince Edward’s daughter is studying in Fife, and in Scotland different education rules apply with zero fees for Scottish nationals. The UCAS website explains: “If you live in Scotland and choose to study full-time at a Scottish university or college, you will not have to pay tuition fees. But, this is not automatic – you need to apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) to have your tuition fees paid for you.” Therefore, any of Louise’s classmates who are Scottish will not be paying a penny.

So, how much does Lady Louise Windsor pay? Fees are around £9,000 per year, with the 2025-2026 academic year coming in at £9,535. It is likely that her royal parents are footing the bill for this, however Louise is not afraid of a hard day’s work. In 2022, it was revealed that she got a summer job in a local garden centre to earn her own money.

Edward and his wife Sophie have been keen to give Louise and her brother James a relatively ‘normal’ life and they don’t attend that many royal engagements. In my time writing about the royals, I’ve seen a big difference between generations, with the likes of William and Harry also moving towards giving their kids a ‘normal’ existence where possible. 

“I don’t ever envisage her being a full-time working royal, or even a part-time working royal,” Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, told HELLO!’s Royal Club. “She’s a member of the royal family. She’s the niece of the present King and will be the cousin of the future King. But I don’t think she will play an active role in working royal life.”

 What will Lady Louise’s career be? 

Louise’s LinkedIn page reads: “I am interested in pursuing a career in the military, diplomacy, or law.” It has been said that she’s keen on serving her King and country and has “fallen in love” with the Army Cadets, which she does alongside her studies at St Andrews University, per The Sun. As part of her training, she will be undertaking Reserve Officer training modules designed to fit around her degree, learning skills that will set her up for a career in the military after she graduates.  

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Louise’s studies in Scotland will certainly set her up for greatness. It’s a prestigious university where both Prince William and Princess Kate studied. The iconic institution has also been named Scotland’s best university in the Sunday Times guide. The university was ranked number two overall in the list, even beating icons Cambridge and Oxford. The report also revealed that 90.6 per cent of the graduates leave with a first or 2:1 grade.