Mike Tindall has announced his wife Zara Tindall, 39, the Queen’s granddaughter, is pregnant with their third child.
The couple, who live at Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Estate in Gloucester, are already parents to Mia Grace, six, and Lena Elizabeth, two.
The former England Rugby star, 41, spoke about the good news on the podcast he co-hosts, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby.
He told Alex Payne and James Haskell: ‘It’s been a good week for me, had a little scan last week – third Tindall on its way.’
The couple’s previous two pregnancies have been formally announced by Buckingham Palace, so this is a considerably more casual approach from the Tindalls.
Mike Tindall has announced his wife Zara Tindall, the Queen’s grand-daughter, is pregnant with their third child
The former England Rugby star, 41, spoke about the good news on the podcast he co-hosts, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby
Mike added: ‘I’d like a boy this time, I’ve got two girls, I would like a boy. I’ll love it whether a boy or a girl – but please be a boy.’
He then joked the couple are considering naming the child to reflect the fact they were conceived during the pandemic.
‘We’re not sure what to do, Covi or Covina – I don’t know where to go with names,’ he chuckled.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: ‘Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh are aware and delighted.’
The Queen and Prince Philip currently have eight great-grandchildren. The baby is the second royal arrival on the way as Zara’s cousin Princess Eugenie is expecting her first child next year.
Zara, pictured in September with her dog before competing in the cross country discipline during the Burnham Market International Horse Trials in Norfolk
Zara received an MBE in 2007 for services to equestrianism. She met Mike during England’s Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003. Pictured in September competing in the dressage during the Burnham Market International Horse Trials in Norfolk
If Zara is 12 weeks pregnant – the scan after which many couples announce they are expecting – it means she’s likely due in the summer, around June.
Bookmaker Coral has made Edward the favourite name for the tot at 3-1, with Alice (4-1) and Lily (5-1) next, followed by Stephen and Michael (both 8-1). Philip is 20-1, Mark 33-1 and Anne 50-1.
Coral’s Henry Aitkenhead said: ‘We make a boys name the favourite for Zara and Mike’s third child, with Edward the 3-1 leader in our latest Royal baby name betting market.’
Zara, 39, and husband Mike, welcomed eldest daughter Mia in 2014.
She revealed in December 2016 that a pregnancy announced the previous month had ended in a miscarriage.
Two years later in an interview with the Sunday Times, Zara opened up about the devastation of losing the baby and revealed she had suffered a second miscarriage before falling pregnant with daughter Lena.
Zara said the hardest part of her first miscarriage was having to tell the world because news of the pregnancy had been made public.
Zara, 39, and husband Mike, welcomed eldest daughter Mia in 2014. Pictured together at the Barbury International Horse Trials
She explained: ‘In our case, it was something that was really rare; it was nature saying, “This one’s not right.” I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along.’
Zara was thought to be around four months pregnant at the time of her first miscarriage.
It’s not clear when Zara’s miscarriage occurred, but it would have happened between December 2016 and October 2017, when she fell pregnant with Lena.
Speaking about his wife’s miscarriages, Mike said: ‘Z is very good, always careful because of things that have happened in the past, and really looking forward to it.’
Zara was pregnant with Lena at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018, and was caught on camera turning to her husband to tell him she was desperate for the toilet
Zara was pregnant with Lena at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018, and was caught on camera turning to her husband to tell him she was desperate for the toilet.
Zara received an MBE in 2007 for services to equestrianism and won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics as a member of the Great Britain Eventing Team.
In August 2020, Tindall was selected for her first appearance on the British Team competing at the prestigious FEI Nations Cup in Le Pin au Haras, France. In September she rode her new horse Happenstance at the Cornbury International Horse trials in Oxfordshire, competing in the dressage test.
Zara continued competing during her previous pregnancies.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions, Zara and Mike have been vocal in their support for healthcare workers.
During the summer, Mike shared a photo of him and Zara clapping for NHS workers on Instagram. The couple sported their Kindred T-shirts, the entire proceeds of which go to NHS Charities Together.
Zara, Princess Anne’s daughter, and Mike live a relatively low-key life on Gatcombe Park, located in the heart of the Cotswolds, just a few miles away from Highgrove, Prince Charles’ home in nearby Tetbury.
Zara with her daughter Lena during the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire
Mike admitted during the podcast that while he’d love the baby if it is a girl, he’s keen for a boy. Pictured with Lena at Gatcombe
The Queen bought the Grade II-listed manor house for her only daughter and her then husband, Captain Mark Phillips, as a wedding present, and the couple moved in 1977 – and raised their two children, Peter and Zara, on the estate.
Zara met Mike during England’s Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003.
They announced their engagement, and as required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772 – which has since been repealed – the Queen gave her consent to their marriage in a meeting of the Privy Council on 10 May 2011.
The couple married on July 30, 2011.
Zara is godmother to Prince George, the son of her cousin, the Duke of Cambridge.