Zara Tindall is an incredibly popular member of the Royal Family who is never afraid to show the close bond she shares with her relatives.
As Princess Anne's daughter celebrates her 43rd birthday today (Wednesday, 15 May), there is one family relationship that is especially important - and it began during Zara's earliest days.
Zara was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington on 15 May, 1981 and was Queen Elizabeth II's first granddaughter. As she never faced any realistic prospect of becoming Queen, Zara's life would be much less restrictive than her cousins - and her name was chosen to reflect this... but who picked it?
Zara's birth was said to be quick, with her mother describing it as "a rather sudden and positive arrival". However, when it came to what the new baby would be called, it was the then-Prince Charles who had the solution.
Anne's older brother suggested the name Zara because it is a Greek name meaning as bright as the dawn. This seems especially fitting now that Zara Tindall is the proud owner of her very own silver Olympic medal - won as part of the Team GB equestrian eventing event in 2012.
Throughout the years, the uncle and niece have shared many special moments, with their most recent meeting at the Royal Windsor Horse Show melting hearts.
Royal expert Jennie Bond weighed in on the encounter, noting the authenticity and warmth of the embrace. "Now THAT’s a proper hug!" Jennie told OK! "And a proper relationship: loving, warm, and unselfconscious," she remarked, highlighting Zara's genuine affection for her uncle amidst his recent struggles.
"We are seeing a lot more public displays of affection from the royals these days… and it’s a good thing," she added. "It makes them all much more relatable and genuine. The days of the stiff upper lip and polite handshakes are passing. Hooray!"
Zara, along with husband Mike, are some of the most popular members of the Royal Family. The pair met in the Manly Wharf bar in Sydney, Australia during England's Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in 2003 while Zara was on her gap year with a group of friends.
Mike later revealed that Zara had left her number for him and after they spent some time texting she invited him to be her date at the upcoming North Cotswold Ball back in the UK.
Mike soon met his future in-laws, the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips and described Princess Anne as a “legend” before revealing what his welcome into the firm was really like. "My mates in Wakefield are forever asking how I fit in among the Royal Family but they are really down to earth," he quipped.
Mike popped the question in a proposal at their home in 2010. “I was upstairs, plucking up the nerve to do it, while Zara was downstairs watching television,” he recalled.
“It was all about shock value - I wanted to catch her when it was quiet, and she wasn’t expecting anything… She was completely in shock. Then, when she stopped laughing, she said, ‘Yes.’ That was a relief.”
Shortly after her wedding, Zara clinched a silver medal for British Eventing in the London 2012 Olympics. More joy quickly followed as the couple welcomed their first daughter, Mia Grace, in January 2014.
Sadly the couple suffered a miscarriage in 2016. Speaking about the tragedy afterwards, Zara said, "When things like that happen, normally it's just your family and friends,” pointing out how, “the hardest thing in our situation is that everyone knew."
Luck was soon on their side again with the birth of a second daughter Lena Elizabeth in 2018. The couple’s only son, Lucas Philip, completed the family in 2021, much to Mike’s joy as he made no secret of his hopes to have a son.
Speaking on his The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast before Lucas’s birth, Mike joked: “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.”
