23 APRIL 2002
One of the Royal Family’s best-kept secrets, Lady Gabriella Windsor, turns 21 on Tuesday and a newly released photo-shoot reveals that she is flowering into a real royal rose. Lady Gabriella is the Queen’s second cousin and 30th in line to the throne.

Wearing a dress by Catherine Walker and her mother Princess Michael’s jewellery, the young royal’s striking appearance at the shoot with royal photographer John Swannel might well eclipse the coming-of-age shots of all the other Windsor women and she is being touted as the new royal pin-up.

Christened Gabriella Marina Alexandra Ophelia, she bears a striking resemblance to a young Princess Alexandra, her father’s sister. But Lady Gabriella is more than a beauty. She has a proven academic ability and, like Prince Michael, a talent for languages.

Lady Gabriella is currently in her second year at Brown University in Rhode Island in the United States, where she studies English and Hispanic Literature and Play-writing.

The young royal first turned heads two years ago when she arrived at the Badminton Horse Trials in close-fitting jeans, a tight green top and a fetching trilby. For the photo shoot on Monday, it was glamour all the way. “She looked absolutely stunning,” said an onlooker. “Surely Lady Gabriella is the most beautiful of all the Windsors.”

To see Lady Gabriella’s coming-of-age photo shoot, check out next week’s edition of HELLO! (edition number 711).