Queen Elizabeth II's eldest grand-daughter Zara Phillips is to wed her rugby-playing boyfriend Mike Tindall, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday, in a marriage of world-beating sports stars. Setting up the prospect of two royal weddings in 2011, the announcement comes a month after her cousin Prince William, the second in line to the throne, revealed his engagement to university sweetheart Kate Middleton.
Phillips, 29, the daughter of the queen's only daughter Princess Anne, is an eventing world champion and 12th in line to the throne. Tindall, 32, who played in England's 2003 World Cup-winning team, proposed on Monday at their home in Gloucestershire, south-west England. They couple have been together for seven years and have largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight. They have not yet set a date but it seems likely they will tie the knot next year.