Zara Phillips

Infobox British Royalty

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|none
name = Zara Phillips
imgw = 200px
full name = Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips
royal house = House of Windsor
father = Captain Mark Phillips
mother = Anne, Princess Royal
date of birth = birth date and age|1981|5|15|df=yes
place of birth = St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London
date of christening = 27 July 1981
place of christening = Windsor Castle, Berkshire|

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, MBE (born 15 May 1981) is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. As the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, she is twelfth in the British Order of Succession.

An equestrienne, Zara is the reigning Eventing World Champion who won the World Championship in Aachen and was voted 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year that year by the British viewing public (an award her mother, Princess Anne, won in 1971). Zara was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2007 New Years Honours List for her services to equestrianism. [LondonGazette|issue=58196|supp=yes|notarchive=yes|startpage=13|endpage=21|date=30 December 2006|accessdate=2008-09-01]

Zara has an older brother, Peter Phillips, born 15 November 1977, and two half-sisters, Felicity Tonkin, born in 1985 to her father and his former mistress Heather Tonkin, and Stephanie Phillips, born 2 October 1997 from her father's second marriage to Sandy Pflueger.

Childhood

Zara was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital of Paddington, London. She was baptised on 27 July 1981 [citeweb |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/articles/2005/05/03/zara_phillips_feature.shtml |title=The young royals: Zara Phillips |publisher=BCC Gloucestershire |accessdate=2007-07-31] and has five godparents: her uncle Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Leonora Anson, Countess of Lichfield, Lady (Helen) Stewart (wife of Sir Jackie Stewart), Andrew Parker Bowles and Hugh Thomas.

Zara began her education at nursery school in Minchinhampton. She then progressed to Beaudesert Park School and Port Regis Prep School, before completing her education at Gordonstoun.

She later qualified as a physiotherapist specialising in Equine Physiotherapy from the University of Exeter.cite web |url=http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/zaraphillips/|title=An in-depth look at your favourite celebrity personalities - hellomagazine.com, HELLO!|accessdate=2007-10-22]

During her time at school, she excelled at many sporting activities and represented her schools in hockey, athletics and gymnastics. [citeweb |url=http://www.askmen.com/women/models_150/167c_zara_phillips.html |title=Model of the Week: Zara Phillips |publisher=AskMen.com |accessdate=2008-01-23]

Equestrian

Following in both her parents' footsteps, Zara is an accomplished equestrian sportswoman. In June 2003, Zara announced that she had secured a sponsorship deal with Cantor Index, a leading company in spread betting to help cover the costs of her equestrian career.

Together with her horse Toytown, she collected individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championship in Blenheim and individual gold and team silver medals at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, making her the reigning Eventing World Champion.

However, despite winning team gold at the 2007 European Eventing Championships in Italy, she failed to defend her own individual title after a problem in the show jumping phase of the competition. [citeweb |url=http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/eventingleague/britishteam/European_eventing_championships_show_jumping_news_143540.html |title=Britain retains European eventing championship title |last=Austen |first=Catherine |publisher=Horse & Hound |accessdate=2007-09-19]

It was announced by the British Olympic Association that Zara will be riding Toytown as one of five riders for the British equestrian team at the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 in Hong Kong, China. [ [http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/AthleteProfile.aspx?id=6682 Beijing 2008 > Athlete Profile] ] However, an injury sustained by Toytown during training led to Zara being forced to withdraw from the team. Zara previously missed the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens when Toytown suffered a similar injury during training. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/equestrian/7448590.stm Phillips out of GB Olympic team] , "BBC News", 11 June 2008. Accessed 3 August 2008.]

Royal engagements

As the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, Zara carries out duties on behalf of The Royal Family. In 2003, Zara and HRH The Princess Royal took part in the first UK double ship-naming ceremony in Southampton. HRH The Princess Royal named the P&O Cruises liner Oceana and Zara named its sister ship Adonia.

Zara frequently attends various events for charity and has taken to supporting certain causes herself, mainly for spinal injuries, equestrian charities and children's causes.

In 2005 she auctioned off one of her evening gowns (worn at the London premiere of the film "Seabiscuit") to help with tsunami relief. She also undertook a royal visit to New Zealand in her role as patron of The Catwalk Trust.

From 1998 to 2005 she served as the president of Club 16-24, a group which encourages young people to take an interest in racing.

Zara is also linked to INSPIRE, the Salisbury based medical research charity that helps to improve the quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries, and Sargent Cancer Care for Children, the UK's leading children's cancer charity.

Zara also appears at events for The Cauldwell Charitable Trust, which is targeted at children with special needs, disabilities and serious illnesses.

Zara has continued her family's long patronage of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and has visited on many occasions.

In 2006, Zara took part in a special charity day for Cantor Index, whose staff were killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In 2007, Zara became patron of the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund. [citeweb |url=http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/eventingleague/article.php?id=143648/ |title=Zara Phillips supports Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund |publisher=Horse & Hound |accessdate=2007-09-18]

To help with Sport Relief 2008, Zara posed for her first official royal portrait by artist Jack Vettriano. [citeweb |url=http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2008/02/28/zara-phillips-sport/ |title=Thoroughly modern Zara sits for 'exceptionally sexy' royal portrait |publisher=Hello! |accessdate=2008-03-02]

Relationships

Her often stormy relationship with former fiancé and National Hunt jockey Richard Johnson, with whom she lived for five years, attracted the unwelcome attention of the British paparazzi, and the couple's split in November 2003 became front page news.

She is now dating Mike Tindall who plays for Gloucester Rugby and was part of the England World Cup winning squad in 2003.

In popular culture

*The graphic novel "V for Vendetta" contains a reference to "Queen Zara"; it is implied that following a nuclear war in the 1980s she was the most senior survivor in the order of succession. The novel incorrectly refers to "Queen Zara's" 16th birthday being in June; it is possible that this not a reference to Zara's actual birthday, but rather to the observed Queen's Birthday, which does take place in June.
*Nick Copeman's 2005 memoir, "*King Nicholas and the Copeman Empire", is dedicated to Phillips, and she is mentioned extensively throughout.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Zara Phillips
2= 2. Mark Phillips
3= 3. Anne, Princess Royal
4= 4. Peter William Garside Phillips
5= 5. Anne Patricia Tiarks
6= 6. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
7= 7. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
8= 8. Joseph Herbert Phillips
9= 9. Dorothea Mary Land
10= 10. John Gerhard Edward Tiarks
11= 11. Evelyn Florence Cripps
12= 12. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
13= 13. Princess Alice of Battenberg
14= 14. George VI of the United Kingdom
15= 15. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
16= 16. William Garside Phillips
17= 17. Emma Grundy
18= 18. William Henry Land
19= 19. Kate Eliza Moore
20= 20. John Gerhard Tiarks
21= 21. Ada Constance Helen Harington
22= 22. Percy Roland Cripps
23= 23. Mary Howard Tripp
24= 24. George I of Greece
25= 25. Olga Konstantinovna of Russia
26= 26. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven
27= 27. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
28= 28. George V of the United Kingdom
29= 29. Mary of Teck
30= 30. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
31= 31. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck

References

External links

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* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1776395,00.html Zara follows mother's trail to the top]