Queen's eldest granddaughter gives birth to baby girl

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Zara Phillips, the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, gave birth Friday to a baby girl, the royal palace announced, adding that the girl's name would be made public at a later date. Both mother and daughter were said to be doing well.

Phillips, who is 15th in line to the British throne and the daughter of Princess Royal Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, delivered the baby early Friday morning at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in southwest England. The baby's weight was 7 pounds and 12 ounces (3.5 kilograms) at birth, said James Roscoe, the queen's acting press secretary.

"The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and (husband) Mike's parents, Mr. Phillip and Mrs Linda Tindall, have been informed and are delighted with the news," Roscoe said in a statement released by the palace. "The baby's name will be confirmed in due course."

Acclaimed rugby player Mike Tindall, who married Phillips during a ceremony in Scotland in July 2011, was present when their child was born. "Thanks so much for all your kind messages. Definitely the best day of my life today, so happy!", he wrote on his Twitter account later on Friday, adding: "The girls are both doing great."

The baby girl is the couple's first child, the third grandchild for the Princess Royal, and the fourth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh. The child is now 16th in line to the British throne.

Phillips and Tindall met during England's Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003, and the couple announced their engagement in December 2010. Phillips - whose formal name is Mrs. Michael Tindall - has achieved success in sports herself, winning a gold medal at the World Equestrian Games in Germany in 2006. She was later also named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

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