Lady Louise Windsor cheered on by boyfriend at carriage driving championships

Lady Louise Windsor took on the National British Carriage Driving Championships at Ashfields in Essex on Saturday, with boyfriend Felix da Silva-Clamp cheering from the sidelines. HELLO!

The 22-year-old is the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. She is 16th in line to the throne.

Louise competed in the cross-country marathon, the timed outdoor section of carriage driving where drivers steer horse and carriage through obstacles. Her pony was Balmoral Bertie, a former pony of her late grandfather Prince Philip, who took up the sport after giving up polo.

He stayed on the sidelines. Felix watched in a Royal Windsor Horse Show baseball cap as Louise drove, a low-key presence at the edge of the course.

The outing comes at the start of a new chapter. Louise graduated from St Andrews University in Scotland in July after a four-year English degree, and is now starting a gap year.

She plans to spend the year working, volunteering and travelling, as previously reported in July. HELLO!

Louise and Felix reportedly met at St Andrews a couple of years ago. Both were members of the university drama society, according to HELLO!

Carriage driving has become their shared summer routine. Louise had an official role at the Royal Windsor Horse Show earlier this year, and Felix supported her at a competition in West Sussex on 2 August.

What makes this stand out is the family thread. Prince Philip was one of Britain's best-known carriage drivers. Seeing his granddaughter compete with one of his former ponies gives the sport a direct link across the generations.