There is a new royal baby on the way! Zara Tindall is pregnant with her third baby, her husband Mike Tindall has confirmed. The former England star announced the news on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, telling his co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne: “It’s been a good week for me, had a little scan last week – third Tindall on its way.”
He continued: “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!” To groans from one of his co-hosts, Mike then joked: “We’re not sure what to do Covi or Covina – I don’t know where to go with names.”
Zara, 39, and Mike, 42, have been married since July 2011 and are parents to two little girls: Mia, six, and two-year-old Lena.
The Queen’s granddaughter endured two miscarriages before welcoming little Lena. Touching upon their previous heartbreak, Mike said: “Z is very good, always careful because of things that have happened in the past, and really looking forward to it.”
Asked about the baby’s due date, Mike remained tight-lipped and replied: “We like to play our cards close to the chest.” But he revealed his eldest child has not been told the good news: “We haven’t told Mia yet because we knew she would tell everyone at school. Now that we’ve gone through the scan, yes (of) course we’ll tell her.
“She’ll be happy about it, she’s been requesting another sister or brother, so we’ve hopefully fulfilled that role for her. She just wants something different now. Lena’s growing up – she’s two-and-a-half now – she wants something younger to play with and dress up!”
Both Zara and Mike are devoted parents, with the proud dad occasionally sharing snippets of their home life together. Earlier this year, he spoke about their experience of home-schooling during lockdown and their decision to send Mia back into full-time education.
He told Lorraine Kelly: “You weigh it up, the school she’s at have done a fantastic job in how they’ve prepared. She was ready to go back, she was missing her friends and missing that interaction.”
Of Mia’s first day back at school, he explained: “I’ll always remember her face coming out the first day, she’d had a blast catching up with and seeing everyone. It was a bit of a no-brainer for us, in terms of not just her wellbeing and mental wellbeing, but for us, home-schooling… I think it was definitely needed.”
Zara won’t be the only member of the royal family welcoming a new arrival in 2021. Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank are expecting their first baby together early next year, with Buckingham Palace confirming their happy news in September.