UK: HRH The Princess Royal to become a grandmother again

The press secretary to the Queen of the United Kingdom issued the following statement today, 8 July 2013:

Mr and Mrs Mike Tindall are very pleased to announce that Zara Tindall is expecting a baby in the New Year.

The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips, Mr Phillip and Mrs Linda Tindall, and members of both families are delighted with the news.

This baby will be the first child for Mike and Zara and the third grandchild for The Princess Royal.

Zara Tindall, née Phillips, is the youngest child of HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and Captain Mark Phillips. She married the rugby player Mike Tindall, son of Phillip Tindall and Linda Tindall, née Shepherd, at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on 30 July 2011.

The Tindall baby will of course be the fourth great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as the whole Britain, if not the whole world, is eagerly awaiting the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child. The due date is said to be the firstcoming Saturday, 13 July, but as everyone knows the birth could take place any day now.

Those with a Twitter account has surely started to follow the royal baby news via the hashtag #royalbaby. Lots of people also used the same hashtag when the news of Zara Tindall's pregnancy was announced. Personally I would have preferred if #Tindallbaby had been used instead, so that #royalbaby was restricted to the Cambridges. There are too many tweets already! Even if the term "royal" is not legally defined in the UK, I think people are stretching it a bit far when #royalbaby is also used for the Tindall baby. There is after all no royal title at stake here. The future Tindall will, by the way, become no. 16 in the line of succession to the British throne.

UK: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall married

Zara Phillips, daughter of the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and Mark Phillips, were married to Mike Tindall, son of Phillip Tindall and Linda Tindall, née Shepherd, at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh yesterday, 30 July 2011. The wedding reception took place at Holyroodhouse. The Queen's declaration of consent to the marriage was given in the Pricy Council held on 10 May 2011.

In attendance were among others the bride's grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh; the Princess Royal, Timothy Laurence, Captain Mark Phillips with spouse, Peter and Autumn Phillips, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Henry of Wales, the Duke of York, Princess Beatrix and Princess Eugenie of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Andrew Parker Bowles (one of Zara Phillips' godparents), Iain Balshaw (best man), Dave Clark (boyfriend of Princess Beatrice) as well as Daniel and Lady Sarah Chatto (the latter the daughter of the late Princess Margaret).

BBC News writes that Zara Phillips upon marriage will keep her maiden name, and that «it is understood this is because of her sporting career in equestrianism». Oh well, could it just be that she didn't see the point in changing the surname she has had her whole life? BBC News adds that Zara by not taking the surname of Mike Tindall «is believed to be setting a royal precedent». Maybe, but it is too early to tell.

Source for guest list: Various news reports as well as the guest list section at Nobiliana.de.

UK: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall to marry on 30 July 2011

Buckingham Palace has announced that the wedding between Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall will take place at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on 30 July 2011. According to The Daily Telegraph, Mike Tindall's best man will be his rugby colleague Iain Balshaw. I guess we will have to wait to see who Zara's maid of honour will be.

The engagement was announced on 21 December 2010.

Zara Phillips is the daughter of the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and her first husband Mark Phillips.

UK: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall engaged to be married

Buckingham Palace tweeted today that "The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Zara Phillips to Mr. Mike Tindall."

According to The Daily Telegraph, the engagement took place yesterday evening, Monday 20 December 2010, at the couple's home in Gloucestershire. Although the wedding date has not been set yet, the news of the engagement means that there could be two royal/royalty-related weddings in the United Kingdom in 2011. Prince William of Wales' engagement to Kate Middleton was made public on 16 November 2010, and their wedding is to take place at Westminster Abbey on Friday 29 April 2011.

Miss Zara Phillips, the only daughter of the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and her first husband Mark Phillips, and of course a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, was born at St. Mary's Hospital, London on 15 May 1981. She is 12th in line of succession to the British throne and hopes to represent Great Britain as an equestrian at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Michael James Tindall was born on 18 October 1978 at Otley, Leeds as the son of Phillip Tindall and Linda Tindall, née Shepherd. He is well-known as a rugby union player representing Gloucester Rugby and England.

I gather that British genealogists are already working on the ancestry of Mike Tindall, and look forward to reading more details soon. As of today I have only found that Mike's grandmother Margaret Shepherd died in March 2006.

See also Thisisgloucester.co.uk's news article of today, Queen's granddaughter gets engaged to Gloucester Rugby skipper Mike Tindall.

Updated on Wednesday 22 December 2010 at 11.15 (link added to Gloucester Rugby's official website).