Lady Louise Windsor was once called the "secret weapon" of the royal Family, when the daughter of the Duchess of Edinburgh turned 11-21 at the age of 21. 8, it is frightening to think that she and her mother both came very close to losing their lives in 2003.

As a child of Prince Louise Edward is the granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip — the eldest son of Edward and Duchess Sophie 2 children. The Duchess experienced a normal pregnancy, but on the 11th month. 8,2003, she began to experience "catastrophic abdominal pain," per the Daily Mail.

After arriving at Frimley Hospital near her home in Surrey, England, doctors noticed that Sophie was experiencing an acute placental rupture.This is an experience that can be fatal for both mother and baby due to extreme blood loss.

According to the publication, Sophie was "only 15 minutes away from dying in the emergency room" during the incident and "lost 9 pints of blood" due to internal bleeding."

Small baby Louise, weighing just 4 pounds, 9 ounces, was born via emergency c-section and suffers from a rare eye condition called esotropia and her eyes she will be undergoing three separate surgeries for the problem over the years.

Frimley did not have a neontal specialist unit, so the premature baby was taken to a hospital in London. Meanwhile, the Duchess, who was "sedated, alone and suffering from being away from the baby," was in a serious condition.

Catastrophically, Prince Edward was carrying out royal duties in Mauritius and was unable to be by his wife's side throughout the ordeal. The prince could not go to the family until the next day, and according to the Daily Mail, when he noticed the extent of the situation, he "turned white like a sheet."

Duchess Sophie was forced to spend 16 days in hospital away from her baby as she recovered from a traumatic birth. Queen Elizabeth allegedly made a secret visit to Sophie in the hospital, which was unheard of at the time.

The newborn unit, Ming (Hi!), opened her life to be saved in the same hospital as the Duchess of Edinburgh."The services you can provide can literally make the difference between life and death. I can prove it.

Today, when Louise turns 21, she is called the "credit" of the royal family. Like her cousin Prince William before her, she is a student at St Andrews University in Scotland. And like her father, Prince Edward, Louise shares a love for theatre.

She also inherited a royal passion from Prince Philip; a college student is a skilled carriage driver and competes in many horse shows.

Down To Earth Lady Louise, who has a summer job at a garden centre in the UK, is also a member of her university's officer training corps. If she pursues a career in the army, she will become the first female British Royal to do so since Queen Elizabeth II.