Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are going to be great-grandparents for the 10th time as their eldest granddaughter, Zara Tindall, is expecting another baby with her husband Mike Tindall.
Mike confirmed the baby news during his podcast show, The Good, the Bad and the Rugby, on Wednesday. The former professional rugby player said that they took a scan confirming there will be a "third Tindall on its way."
Sources inside Buckingham Palace said that Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh are delighted about another baby in the family. Zara and Mike have two children -- Mia, 6, and Lena, 2 -- and they hope that the third one will be a boy.
The news comes as the Queen's other granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, expects her first baby with husband, Jack Brooksbank. The York royal is expected to give birth in early 2021. The child will be the Queen's ninth great-grandchild as well as the 11th in the line of succession.
Mike did not reveal his wife's due date and hinted that they would prefer to keep it within the family. He also said that Zara has been very careful, especially after suffering two miscarriages after having their first baby.
Zara and Mike lost a baby in 2016, a month after announcing that they were expecting their second child. The second miscarriage happened a year later, making Lena, who was born in June 2018, their rainbow baby. In an interview with The Times after Lena's birth, Zara said that she doesn't want to publicly speak about her pregnancy loss because her feelings about it are too raw.
The Tindall's third child will be further down the line of succession. Zara, the daughter of Princess Anne and her ex-husband Mark Phillips, is currently the 18th in line to the throne, but she will drop one spot when Princess Eugenie's baby is born.
Meanwhile, Mike also revealed that they did not tell their eldest child about the pregnancy beforehand because Mia will likely blab about the new baby to everyone in the school. But now that the news is official, Mia is happy to have another baby brother or sister to play with, aside from Lena.
Zara has been practicing for the 2021 Olympics throughout this lockdown, where she will compete as an accomplished equestrian. It's unclear what the Tindalls plan to do next as she will have to take a break from her riding routines during her pregnancy.
