Zara Phillips, the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, is engaged to longtime boyfriend rugby player Mike Tindall, Phillips’ parents announced via Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, Dec. 21.
Phillips, 29, is the second child and only daughter of Anne, the Princess Royal, and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. She is 12th in the line of succession to the British throne.
Phillips said she was “shocked” by Tindall’s proposal, but was “very happy” to accept it at the couple’s home in Gloucestershire on Monday evening, according to The Telegraph newspaper in Britain.
“I am delighted that Zara has agreed to marry me. We are both very excited about the next stage of our lives together,” said Tindall, 32, who proposed to Phillips with a solitaire diamond ring, The Telegraph reported.
“The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news,” said a Palace spokeswoman as quoted by Edinburgh Evening News.
The couple met in a Sydney bar during the 2003 Rugby World Cup through Prince Harry, Zara’s cousin, and their friendship soon bloomed into a romance.
They have yet to set a date for their wedding, but are expecting to hold it next summer or autumn, following the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Phillips, an accomplished equestrian, hopes to represent Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics.
Phillips, 29, is the second child and only daughter of Anne, the Princess Royal, and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. She is 12th in the line of succession to the British throne.
Phillips said she was “shocked” by Tindall’s proposal, but was “very happy” to accept it at the couple’s home in Gloucestershire on Monday evening, according to The Telegraph newspaper in Britain.
“I am delighted that Zara has agreed to marry me. We are both very excited about the next stage of our lives together,” said Tindall, 32, who proposed to Phillips with a solitaire diamond ring, The Telegraph reported.
“The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news,” said a Palace spokeswoman as quoted by Edinburgh Evening News.
The couple met in a Sydney bar during the 2003 Rugby World Cup through Prince Harry, Zara’s cousin, and their friendship soon bloomed into a romance.
They have yet to set a date for their wedding, but are expecting to hold it next summer or autumn, following the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Phillips, an accomplished equestrian, hopes to represent Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics.
