Yay, I’m glad I was right about when Zara Phillips was due, because she looked ready to pop around Christmas. Zara and Mike Tindall welcomed their first child, a little girl, earlier today in England. We don’t have a name yet, but we already know that the little girl is not going to have a title. Princess Anne raised her children without titles, and Mike Tindall refused a title too when he married Zara, so while this baby girl is the Queen’s great-granddaughter (and fourth great-grandchild overall), the baby will be named like a commoner!
Little Prince George has a new second cousin and future playmate, as his godmother Zara Tindall – Prince William’s cousin – has given birth.
Zara, 32, welcomed a daughter Friday, Buckingham Palace announced. The Olympic equestrian and her husband, rugby player Mike Tindall, have not confirmed a name for their child yet.
The baby girl, who weighed 7 lbs., 12oz., becomes 16th in line to the throne, after her mother, who is 15th.
Mike Tindall was at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for the birth, the palace said. The baby is Zara’s first, and becomes the third grandchild for Zara’s mother, Princess Anne. (Zara’s brother, Peter Phillips, has two young children.) Along with George, Queen Elizabeth now has four great-grandchildren.
The palace said in a statement: “The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and Mike’s parents, Mr. Phillip and Mrs. Linda Tindall, have been informed and are delighted with the news. The baby’s name will be confirmed in due course.”
Zara – commonly known as Zara Phillips – grew up near William at her mother’s Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire, and the cousins are close – something that was further confirmed when she was chosen as one of Prince George’s godparents by William and wife Kate.
The British papers made a big deal about how Zara wanted a simple NHS hospital birth, so I suspect that’s what happened – no muss, no fuss, and Zara’s in such good shape, she probably had an easy labor. I’m really happy that Zara had a girl too – I was one of the people kind of hoping that Duchess Kate would have a girl, but we got Prince George instead. And now Zara has the girl. A girl who will no doubt be a little tomboy, a horse-lover and a little princess (and she’s currently 16th in line to the throne). Congrats to Mike and Zara!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Congrats to the new parents. Looking forward to hearing the name. I bet “Elizabeth” will be in there somewhere…
Congrats! Happy she had a girl. I am hoping they name the girl Ashley……….
Congrats to them! I’ve always loved Zara.
On a side note: why doesn’t Mike get his nose fixed? That has to be from rugby right? Having a deviated septum myself I know how hard it is to breath through and his is 100x worse than mine!
I think he is waiting until he is 100% done from Rugby then he -may- get it fixed. I am very curious to see what he will look like!
He looks like a Picasso painting.
The baby won’t be a little princess, because Zara isn’t a princess. She’ll be a commoner, like her parents. I know it sounds weird to have someone that close to the throne be a commoner.
“I am a princess, all girls are! Even if they live in tiny old attics, even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty, or smart or young, we’re still princesses, all of us. Didn’t your father ever tell you that? Didn’t he?”
HaHaHaHa! Congrats to Zara and Mike. Love how “normal” they are!!!
Good God, his nose! What is this.
He’s a rugby player and it’s been broken 8 times. He’s said he’ll prob get surgery once he retires from sport-but at the moment it would be a waste as it would just get broken again.
That is insane, thank you for the fyi. I’ve never heard of the guy before. That just looks unbearably uncomfortable.
thank you, I should have read before posting.
He’s a rugby player so I’m guessing it’s been broken a few dozen times – rivals Stephen Fry’s!
According to the palace and the daily fail, she’s already at home post-delivery. That’s crazy fast, not even a full 24 hours?!
Mothers in uk can b released as little as 12 hrs after the birth.
Not judging at all, as I’ve not had children, but would you want to go home that soon? I mean, aren’t you tired? And sore? On the other hand, I can see how you would want to get out of a hospital.
@GoodNames
Wanting to go or stay really depends on your birth, the time of day you deliver, and what you have waiting for you at home.
My question is….does anyone think being fit really help with delivery? I have had 2 very easy deliveries but always attributed it to genetics as my mum and gram were the same. I exercise a lot, neither of them have exercised a day in their lives (they are active but not athletic). I always think it is genetics, and size and position of the babies.
sienna
Being fit can lead to an easier labor. Your quality of cardio and muscle mass aids many women in an easy birth of their children. Taken into account there are no complications of course.
And some women like your mother and grandmother are just lucky. Life is funny like that.
Actually, in the UK you can leave after 6 hours, as long as there’s no problems. I had to stay in 5 days after having my daughter, and was desperate for my own bed, I would have loved to have a straightforward birth and be home in my own bed by the end of the day!
It’s also not always the mothers choice. If you’ve had a no complications, vaginal birth, the hospital will kick you out if they need the bed for someone else. Giving birth is not seen as a medical emergency over here. If your deemed medically fit after the birth then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go home.
In the United States a three day hospital stay is the average. Even without complications many new mothers enjoy the around-the-clock monitoring and care and benefit from visits and tutorials from just stational specialists, if they choose to breast-feed. Each new mom feels differently about this I would say.
I stayed in 3 days in an NHS hospital as my baby had trouble latching and they aren’t meant to release a mother who wants to nurse until they’re confident she and the baby are good with that. I’ve been told I can leave for the second baby within a couple of hours if I want and the baby is thriving with good APGAR score etc. There’s a mandatory check of the baby after 6 hours, but my own midwife, who looked after me in the pregnancy, would come out to do it if I left that early (she told me that at the appointment this week). She has to come a lot in the first week anyway, it’s part of the service. You have her visit for a couple of weeks, then the baby nurse takes over.
I’d far, far rather be in my own home than in a hospital.
@Sienna, being fit has practically nothing to do with an easy or hard birth. Far too many things need to be considered when making that assessment. Healing and recovery can be aided by being in better shape but birth cannot be planned. You cannot change your child’s position or the position of your hips or the condition of your cervix or pelvic bone or vagina by being fit. You certainly cannot will the baby to do your bidding and change their position (for instance, a baby that is sunny side up is going to cause tremendous back pain. You could have run 5 miles a day up until you went into labor and that’s going to be a painful experience). Most studies have concluded that things such as perineal massage provide minimal help if any at all in helping women to not tear. Perhaps if you have stamina, it is helpful with a long labor but it truly depends on what kind of person you are, mentally, more than anything else. Furthermore, even if being fit helped her, I doubt she’d categorize her labor and delivery as easy. Giving birth is hard work. Period.
Can’t wait to hear the name! I’m sure we’ll be seeing her romping around with Savannah and Isla in no time!
I’m thinking that since she’s so very close to the Queen she’ll go with a more traditional name – maybe even Anne as a middle name. We’ll soon see!
Congrats to them! They seem like a cool, low-key couple. I’m sure the baby is adorable. 🙂
Yay, Congrats to them!
Strictly superficial (and a wee bit bitchy) but how many times has Tindall’s nose been broken? I don’t think I’ve ever looked that close before, look a bit like a Picasso painting..
My nose hurt just looking at that picture! What’s scary is that I’m so drowsey I didn’t even notice it until everyone was pointing it out. I kind of don’t blame him for wanting to get it fixed once he’s done. Can you imagine going through the surgery just to break it again haha.
Agree. It’s kinda like getting a tummy tuck if you know you are going to be having another baby. Pointless for the time being.
Not that I’m pro tummy tucks or anything just a good analogy.
I’ve always thought Zara was a cool chick…never seemed like she was all that impressed with her own lineage. “Yeah, yeah. My gran’s the Queen. Can we go run the steeplechase now?”
And maybe, barring medical necessity in the future, Mike wears that nose with pride. “Battle” wounds, you could say.
I read this earlier and had a searing sense of irrational and pregnant hormonal rage because TODAY is MY due date and my baby girl is firmly ensconced in my belly making no plans to escape! Not fair! I want my baby too! ;P
All kidding aside, I’m glad she’s arrived healthy and they’re doing well. L, it’s not uncommon for mums to be sent home as soon as they wish here in the UK. I’m planning on doing the same thing if all is well when my baby decides to make her debut.
Devon is it your first baby? Sometimes they like to stick around longer when they’re comfortable. My son was 2 weeks late after his due date, and I had to take castor oil first. Not fun.
Yeah, first baby. I knew all along she could be late but from the first appointment, my midwife said I’d never reach my due date! I’m so over being pregnant and in so much pain! I wanna meet my daughter! 😀
Good luck! My son was 10 days late. Enjoy the last few days, life will never be the same again but in a good way.
Eep! 11 days! I’m hoping it happens over the weekend. My brother says tomorrow, mum says Sunday and my husband says Monday. I’m ready to not be pregnant!
@Devon: Take a REALLY long walk. That did it for me both times. Good Luck!
I need to read up on this no title thing, if Princess Anne was so adamant about her kids not having titles why did she keep hers. Do they atleast get some royal perks?
The story behind princess Anne’s title is very interesting, I’ve always thought. It was her great-grandfather Who initiated the letters patent that established the HRH title for all descendants a monarch. This was fine until Charles was born to Queen Elizabeth Who was the daughter of a monarch and not yet one herself. So her father initiated another letters patent and 1947 that stated that
Okay I guess I really suck at editing and button pushing but I will just briefly do some editing here.
It was princess Anne’s great-grandfather who issued the letters patent that stated that only the children of the current sovereign, any children mail or female born to a male child of the current sovereign and the eldest son and/or eldest grandson of the Prince of Wales could automatically enjoy the HRH stylings. This became a problem when Elizabeth became pregnant. The king and everyone else realized that there would be no automatic titles for her children because she was only the female child of a ruling sovereign. So in 1948 the king issued an extremely specific letters patent so that any and all of Elizabeth’s children would receive their styling at birth. So that is why Charles, Andrew, Edward and and were not given their titles they were born with them. As queen it would have been a Lizabeth own personal prerogative to give titles to any of Aarons children male or female. She was certainly willing and happy to do so but as you know princess and refused. So did Edward. He wanted his children to have the stylings that would naturally occur from being the children of an earl and not those of a prince. The interesting fact is that if Edwards daughter wanted to reinstate her title once she became an adult she would be well within her rights to apply or ask for it. She is the daughter of a male child of a ruling sovereign and would have been given her title automatically at birth otherwise. The difference is that Ann’s daughter and son would have had to been the recipient of the titles from the queen as a gesture love, affection and family strength as opposed to unassailable birthright. Who knows? Maybe that had something to do with Ann’s decision to deny her children those titles. Maybe she never wanted them to feel like something had been handed to them as opposed to it being a natural consequence of their birth. If so I could completely get behind that reasoning. I think it would make her children stronger and more competent. Things that are earned in life are often sweeter and things that are given. And besides, it’s not as if it was going to change the actual lifestyle LOL. Sorry for any typos. I just do not have the strength to fix them 🙂
Thank you for that, Snark. I guess I don’t understand why Anne gets the heeby jeebies about other people outranking her, but has no issues with everyone outranking her children. Really makes me scratch my head.
Bluhare
Lol I never thought of it that way but you make a good point. The funny thing is that titles are inherited through the mail line with the exception of sovereign of course. So that means that without the Queens amendment and’s children would have only been Lady and Viscount anyway if their father had excepted a title when he married their mother. Either way I think Anne could see which way the wind was blowing and understood that the monarchy would be shrinking. But you’re right, Anne has some pretty sharp elbows LOL.
I just noticed his nose–that looks painful.
Probably inhibits his breathing too. I bet he snores like a train.
Woo woo!!!!!!!! Train departing on Platform 2!
Believe it or not, most ruggers don’t end up with their noses all mashed up like that. Despite the face-smashing action, broken noses are kind of a freak thing. I played for many years and never broke a bone, and I was a forward like him.
Zara seems so cool! Her Mother did amazing job with her two chidren, keeping them down to earth and none of that royal entitlement stuff like Andrew’s two brats. Would love to have a beer with Zara.
Oh do not let our dear FLORC hear you malign the York girls lol.
To be honest, however, I have a soft spot for them myself 🙂
They’re not brats, they’ve actually kept very low-key profiles, no falling dead drunk out of limos and showing their lady bits, did well in school, both work and have stable relationships. Now their parents….those two are the brats….Randy Andy, a.k.a. Air Miles Andy and the Duchess of Pork…
Both work? Eugenie, maybe. Beatrice not so much. (Yes, I know she got a new job today)
Jaded
You are right and wrong LOL. The princesses have done their fair share of alcohol soaked tabletop club dancing, believe you me. But they are sweet, good natured girls with a keen sense of family pride and honor. They are not brats by any stretch of the imagination but they are no angels either 😉 They are Andrew and Sarah’s daughters and Harry’s cousins forgot sake LOL.
Congratulations! I’ve always liked them both.
Me too. Part of it is you can tell Mike worships the ground she walks on. And now he’s got a little girl . . . bet she has him round her little finger already.
Does anyone else think she looks older than 32?
Congrats to the happy mommy and daddy and hope both are well. Kaiser, on a person note, I have to call you out on stating:
I’m really happy that Zara had a girl too – I was one of the people kind of hoping that Duchess Kate would have a girl, but we got Prince George instead.
I have three boys and oh so tired of hearing: Don’t you want a girl???? Of course a girl would be nice, but a boy is wonderful too and when the child is healthy, that is the most important factor of all.
Congrats to them! I can’t wait to hear the name. I wonder if they really are going to let Charles name her or was just made up in the papers. 🙂
In sadder news Harry has shaved his beard and taken a desk job.
I saw the Harry news today. Sad about the beard; he actually looked really good in one. Although it’s also nice to read he’s working hard on having the Wounded Warrior games in London. They’ll put them on the map!
Now you know I have a soft spot for Henry XI, but goodness that beard makes him look like a ginger Captain Haddock from the tintin comics.
He didn’t look that bad did he? I thought it made him look sort of rough and ready, which is one of my favourite looks on a man. (Fans self) Mr. bluhare had a beard when we met, but I’m not a giant fan in, um, more intimate situations.
LAK, whilst I get the comparison and laughing agree, to an extent, he was still SEXY as all hell with that beard to me. Although I did realize it would have to go once he got back to military work.
Bluhare, the thing I saw only said he was “organizing events in London” not that he wants to bring the Wounded Warrior games. I remember him saying he wanted to do something like that in London on his last trip to the US. That’s very cool. When I read it I honestly thought “awww they’ve just stuck him behind a desk” I guess it’s time to settle down now. (Somebody’s gotta do the work in the family firm)
Congrats! This is thrilling news 🙂 Zara and Mike are one of my very favorite couples in the public eye. She always looks so beautiful but never fussy and her style and outfits are always right up my alley (Zara and I share a similar body types so her style is attainable for me). I also greatly admire her love of and lifelong commitment to horsemanship and her mother-the incomparable Princess Anne-is one of my heroes! Love them all ❤ I’m sure baby girl is a total doll 🙂 Huzzah!
I can’t wait for the polo pics of the four kids messing about.
Now I’ve got this visual of toddlers whacking each other with little tiny mallets!
Some of the women on a few teams I played for had their toddlers playing on the sidelines with tiny toddler sized hockey sticks. It was the cutest thing ever……
The article couldn’t resist mentioning Prince George, huh? What about this newborn girl’s first cousins: Savannah and Isla, Zara’s nieces? Three granddaughters for Princess Anne, so cool. Prince George is still on a pedestal by not only being the heir but also the only great-grandson of the Queen, for now. Can’t wait to know the name of little Miss Tindall. Will this child have godparents as well?
Congratulations to Zara and Mike! I’ve always liked Zara more than I do Catherine, and now I can’t wait for the little girl’s name!