Of all Queen Victoria 's children, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll , lived perhaps the most unexpected life. The sixth child and fourth daughter of Victoria and Albert, she was a strong supporter of the arts, higher education and feminist causes – and flouted convention throughout her life, avoiding royal protocol as far as possible and pursuing charity work, particularly as part of the war effort.

Born on 18 March 1848, Princess Louise was talented and intelligent from a young age. On his visit to Osborne House – Queen Victoria's treasured home on the Isle of Wight – Hallam Tennyson, the son of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, remarked that the Princess could ‘draw beautifully’, at the age of just 15. However, as the daughter of a monarch, an artistic career was out of the ques

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