Zara Tindall's shocking labour was very different to traditional royal births

Zara Tindall Kate Middleton
(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Zara Tindall and her husband Mike have welcomed their third child, it was confirmed today.

The Queen's granddaughter and the former England rugby player shared the news that they are now parents to a little boy and revealed his name, Lucas Philip Tindall, which is a nod to Prince Philip and has a lovely connection to Princess Eugenie's son August.

A spokesperson for Zara and Mike, who already have two daughters, confirmed the wonderful news, saying, "Zara and Mike Tindall are happy to announce the birth of their third child, Lucas Philip Tindall."

The royal baby is the Queen and Prince Philip’s 10th great-grandchild so his name is a nod to his great-grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who only recently came home from hospital.

Sports star Mike even shared some very shocking details of Zara's home birth on his podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby - and there's some differences between Zara's labour and a traditional royal birth.

Mike revealed that Zara had brought little Lucas into the world on their bathroom floor while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Zara Tindall Mike Tindall

Credit: Getty
(Image credit: Getty Images)

"Sunday got even better because a little baby boy arrived at my house,” Mike said.

“8lb 4oz, very bonny. Arrived very quickly, didn’t make it to hospital, on the bathroom floor!"

It sounds like Zara, who is 19th in the royal line of succession, had a very different birth experience to follow royals like her mum and her cousins Prince William and Prince Harry's wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.

Kate Middleton gave birth to all three of the Cambridge children at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London - starting with Prince George in 2013.

Kate Middleton and Princess Diana giving birth at Lindo Wing

Credit: Getty

Zara herself was born at the private maternity unit and her mother Princess Anne also gave birth to her brother Peter Phillips there. Meanwhile, Princess Diana gave birth to both William and Harry on the prestigious wing.

Prices for Lindo Wing rooms reportedly start at around £5,000 per night while suites can cost double. All meals are made to order by chefs and waiters will take your order for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. There's also a wine and champagne list for wetting the heads of new baby's whose parents brought them into the world in style.

Meghan Markle, who is pregnant with a baby girl, chose another high class hospital for the birth of baby Archie, too. The Duchess of Sussex opted for The Portland Hospital in London when Archie arrived in May 2019.

Suites at The Portland can cost up to £2,000 while 'birthing packages' can reportedly rack up a bill of more than £20,000 and VIPs like Victoria Beckham and Jools Oliver chose it for their own labours while Princess Eugenie welcomed baby August there just last month.

Sounds like a far cry from Zara's bathroom floor delivery, but Mike said he wouldn't have it any other way, swooning over the special at-home moment.

"The best thing about being at home, the best thing was, as soon he’s wrapped up, he’s skin on skin, straight downstairs. TV room. Golf on. This is what we’re doing."

Caitlin Elliott
Junior News Editor

Caitlin is a Junior News Editor for Goodto.com, covering all things royal, celeb, lifestyle, food, and family. Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry).