Buckingham Palace says daughter of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips is to marry England rugby player and long-term partner.
Not content with one royal wedding next year, the family firm has announced this morning that there is going to be a second.
Zara Phillips, 12th in line to the throne, and England rugby international Mike Tindall are to marry. Photograph: Tim Graham/Getty Images |
Phillips, who is 12th in line to the throne, is the Queen's oldest granddaughter.
The palace announcement comes five weeks after the announcement of Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton. They are to be married at Westminster Abbey on 29 April next year.
Zara Phillips is best known as an equestrian rider and is a former eventing world champion. She is a trained equine physiotherapist and was the BBC sports personality of the year in 2006, but missed both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games after her horse, Toytown, developed an injury on each occasion. Her mother, the Princess Royal, was sports personality of the year in 1971 for her own riding achievements.
Phillips and Tindall, 32, have been partners for seven years and live together in a house on her mother's Gloucestershire estate. Yorkshire-born Tindall, known as Fridge, plays outside centre for Gloucester and has 62 caps for England.
He told Hello magazine last year: "I don't think it's about whether we will get married but when. There's no doubt I love Zara but it has to be the right time and, yes, it will probably be a white wedding, although sometimes I can see the attraction of sneaking away without telling anyone."
Courtsey news via Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 21 December 2010 13.46 GMT