Zara Tindall: the exciting life of Princess Anne's daughter

Her name may not ring a bell to everyone, but Zara Tindall, née Zara Phillips, is one of the pillars of the British royal family. Daughter of Princess Anne, Zara Tindall was the first granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and one of her favourites...

Zara Tindall is a true pillar of support for all members of her family. In May, she proved this once again when she accompanied her uncle, King Charles III, who was weakened by cancer, on a surprise visit to the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

As the first granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, Zara Tindall always had a special relationship with her grandmother. According to Royal Family experts, Zara's spontaneous and natural personality was much appreciated by the Queen, who always smiled when she saw her. They also shared a passion for horses.

The photos showing Zara Tindall and her grandmother together speak volumes about the closeness they shared.

While her cousins, Princes William and Harry, have been in the spotlight since they were very young, Zara Tindall has been spared the media frenzy. Yet her life is no less exciting! Here's a look back at her unique place in the British royal family, and her sporting career at the highest level.

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips was born on 15 May 1981 in London. She is the daughter of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, a former British Army officer and Olympic champion equestrian.

But Zara is not the only child of Princess Anne and her first husband. Peter Phillips is four years older than her and the oldest of the siblings. In this photo, Peter and Zara are 9 and 5 years old.

Zara and Peter also have two half-sisters: Stephanie Phillips (on the right of Zara Tindall in the photo), born in 1997, and Felicity Tonkin. Tonkin was born in 1985, the result of an extramarital relationship between Mark Phillips and a New Zealand art teacher. In 1991, DNA tests confirmed this paternity and led to his divorce from Princess Anne a year later.

Unlike her cousins Eugenie and Beatrice (on the left in the photo), Zara is not a princess. Surprising, given her place in the royal family, isn't it? Her brother, Peter Phillips, was also not given the title of prince at birth. And there is an explanation for this...

On his marriage to Princess Anne in 1973, Captain Mark Phillips refused the peerage offered to him by the Queen as a wedding gift, meaning he was never knighted. As royal titles are traditionally passed down through the father, Zara and Peter, and their descendants, have none. Furthermore, they have no royal income.

In this photo: Zara Tindall and her father, Mark Phillips, before an equestrian event in March 2022.

Despite having no title, Zara is still in the line of succession to the British throne. She is now in 22st place in the order of succession to the crown.

Her father's decision has had a positive impact on her life, and she enjoys a freedom that most of her cousins do not have. At the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, for example, she was seen holding hands with her husband, Mike Tindall, which is not allowed by the protocol for royal couples.

Princess Anne spoke about the decision in Vanity Fair magazine in 2020: "I think most people would say there are downsides to having titles... So I think it was probably the right thing to do."

Pictured: the wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.

Not being a crowned head, Zara was also able to choose the career she wanted. A choice that was, in fact, an obvious one.

Zara Tindall grew up surrounded by horses. It's no secret that her grandmother, the Queen, was a keen equestrian. It is difficult to estimate how many racehorses Her Majesty owned! From an early age, the little girl attended polo tournaments and horse races.

In this photo, Zara is seen on her grandmother's lap before a polo match.

Her mother, Princess Anne, is a former equestrian champion who competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Her father was a gold medallist in the team eventing competition at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He also won a silver medal with the British team at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

It was therefore only natural that Zara Tindall should also pursue a career as a rider. In 1999, her father and stepmother gave her ToyTown, a horse that led her to become a great champion. To finance her career, she called on external sponsors, in order to remain as independent as possible.

And Zara has become a top sportswoman! The year she turned 24, she won gold in the European Eventing Championships, both individually and with the British team. Two years later, she was crowned world champion in the individual eventing competition in Aachen. Finally, she won a silver medal with the national team at the London Olympics in 2012.

Zara met Mike Tindall in November 2003, in Australia, after a semi-final between England and France. It was the middle of the Rugby World Cup, and her future husband was about to become a world champion with the British team.

Mike Tindall is no stranger to the English public. A professional rugby player, he played for England between 2000 and 2011 at centre. With the national team, he won the Six Nations Tournament four times, as well as a World Cup in 2003. The rugby player retired in July 2014.

After almost 8 years of relationship, the couple got married on 30 July 2011. The wedding took place at Canongate Church in Edinburgh. Many of England's royal family, including the Queen, attended.

The relationship between the couple and Prince Harry has always been very good, as this photo shows. He is one of the godparents of their first two daughters. And even when the Duke of Sussex went to live across the Atlantic, Zara and Mike Tindall remained loyal and did not turn their backs on him.

During Elizabeth II's last Jubilee, in June 2022, the two couples were seen together, alongside Peter Phillips. An image that contrasted with the icy atmosphere between Harry and his brother William.

Zara and Mike Tindall are now the parents of three children: Mia (born in 2014), Lena (born in 2018), and Lucas (born in 2021).

Although she seems to be a happy mother today, Zara Tindall went through some tough times in 2016. The young woman experienced two traumatic miscarriages. With regard to the first, she had to go through with the pregnancy to give birth to her child, who was stillborn. For the second, she had to terminate the pregnancy and was able to do so.

But she finally got her beautiful smile back, when a happy event finally came to light. And in a rather... unexpected way!

On 21 March 2021, Zara Tindall gave birth to her son Lucas in her home in Gatcombe Park. And more precisely, in her bathroom! "He arrived very quickly. We couldn't get to the hospital," Mike Tindall explained in a podcast. Nevertheless, family seems to be paramount to the royal.

Prince William and Kate Middleton may be going through a difficult period at the moment, marked by the Princess of Wales' cancer, but they know they can count on Zara Tindall and her husband. The couple were already very present for Kate and William's children at the end of 2023, and they did not hesitate to come and support the future King of England at a garden party organised at Buckingham Palace in May 2024.

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