 Louise 's father , Prince Albert , died at Windsor on 14 December 1861 . The Queen was devastated , and ordered her household to move from Windsor to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight . The atmosphere of the royal court became gloomy and morbid in the wake of the Prince 's death , and entertainments became dry and dull . Louise quickly became dissatisfied with her mother 's prolonged mourning . For her seventeenth birthday in 1865 , Louise requested the ballroom to be opened for a debutante dance , the like of which had not been performed since Prince Albert 's death . Her request was refused , and her boredom with the mundane routine of travelling between the different royal residences at set times irritated her mother , who considered Louise to be indiscreet and argumentative . 
