Zara Phillips
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Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips (born 15 May 1981) is the daughter of Anne, the Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. She is 11th in the British Order of Succession and at the time of her birth was sixth. She is an elite standard equestrian.
Birth
Phillips was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital of Paddington, London. She was baptised on July 27, 1981. Her godparents were Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Leonora Anson, Countess of Lichfield, Helen Stewart (wife of Jackie Stewart), Andrew Parker Bowles and Hugh Thoma. Her unusual name caused a stir in royal circles as it was neither Christian nor one of the traditional names usually chosen by the Royal Family. Apparantly, it was chosen by her maternal uncle HRH The Prince of Wales. Princess Anne recalled "The baby made a rather sudden and positive arrival, and my brother thought Zara (a Greek name meaning "bright as the dawn") was an appropriate name."Phillips has an older brother, Peter Phillips, born in November 1977, and two half-sisters, Felicity Tonkin, born in 1985 to her father and his former mistress and Stephanie Phillips, born in 1997 from her father's second marriage to Sandy Pflueger.
Education
Following a spell at the local primary school, Phillips was educated at Port Regis Prep School in Dorset and at Gordonstoun, Scotland. Upon successful completion of her A-levels, Phillips decided to take a year out from education, spending three months of it in Australia and New Zealand. Whilst in Sydney, Phillips spent time with friends of her parents, working as, amongst other things, a stagehand on an Australian production of The Sound of Music.Unsurprisingly, Phillips has always attracted the attention of the British press, not only because she is the eldest grand-daughter of the HM The Queen, but also for her somewhat feisty and spirited nature. Her tongue and navel piercings at the age of 16 led her to be dubbed a "Royal Rebel." Suddenly the world press picked up on her as a photogenic blonde who appeared to be having a wonderful time[link]. Stories and pictures surfaced of Phillips sunbathing topless, frolicking in the sea, bungee jumping and enjoying the Sydney nightlife. Upon her return to England, she enrolled at Exeter University in south-west England, and went on to qualify as a physiotherapist, specialising in equine physiotherapy.
Equitation
Following in both her parents' footsteps, she is an accomplished equestrian sportswoman and, according to The Observer newspaper (Sunday 7th March 2004), has a very respectable world ranking of 36 as a three day eventer. Unlike her parents, however, she has chosen to be as independent as possible and relies mainly on outside sources of funding to help further her career. In June 2003, Phillips 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. This was her first such deal and it continues to the present day. In 1999 she bought Toytown, her prized horse, when he was seven years old with financial help from her father, Mark Phillips and step-mother, Sandy Pflueger. It was also with their help that she trained him to the level he is at today. According to Phillips, speaking following her victory at Blenheim Palace on 2005-09-10, "I bought him [Toytown] as a seven-year-old and we have taken each other through from novice to four-star, so there is a great deal of trust between us, and it shows — he was great the whole way round."In a very close finish, she came second to Pippa Funnell in the Burghley Horse Trials in 2003. Unfortunately Toytown suffered a leg injury in the winter of 2003, shattering Phillips' hopes of competing in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Although she has other horses, none are as experienced as Toytown; therefore she was dropped from the nomination list. Despite this setback, Phillips is expected to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In 2005, at Blenheim Palace, she emulated her mother by winning the individual European Eventing Championship title.
Her achievements in 2005 were topped with accolades received by virtue of the general public. In November 2005, Phillips won the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year award, which was awarded at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate Market in London. She beat off stiff competition from sportswomen such as Paula Radcliffe and Dame Ellen MacArthur. It was quite clearly her performance at the European Eventing Championships at Blenheim Palace which won over the Sunday Times readers, who voted her their favourite.
Despite being a member of the Royal Family, Phillips tries to keep her feet mainly on the ground. She was heard admitting that she finds it a "struggle" to maintain the brilliant form she has displayed over the 2005 season in light of the fact that the pressure and media spotlight she is under. Aside from her three-day and other equine events, she used to hunt and has, in the past, played hockey for Cheltenham Hockey Club.
Royal engagements and charities
Zara undertakes royal duties on behalf of HM The Queen and HRH The Princess Royal. She performed her first official royal engagement in May 2003 at an event which is believed to be both unique in the history of the British royal family and British shipping history. Phillips and her mother, 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 Phillips named its sister ship Adonia.Phillips frequently attends various events for charity, mainly for spinal injuries, equestrian charities and children's causes. In 2005 she auctioned off one of her evening gowns to help with tsunami relief, and agreed to become the honorary president of the Cheltenham Race Festival. 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. Phillips 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 CLIC-Sargent Cancer Care for Children, the UK's leading children's cancer charity. Phillips also appears at events for The Cauldwell Charitable Trust, which is targeted at children with special needs, disabilities and serious illnesses.
Relationships
Her often stormy relationship with National Hunt jockey Richard Johnson attracted the unwelcome attention of the British paparazzi, and the couple's split in November 2003 became front page news. She has also been linked to Caleb Ralph of the All Blacks rugby squad, and England's Mike Tindall. Phillips resides in Gloucester at Gatcombe Park.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. Although in the novel, the authors incorrectly (perhaps intentionally) refer to "Queen Zara's" 16th birthday being in June 1996 suggesting that it was only meant to be somewhat of a tenuous link.
- Nick Copeman's 2005 memoir, King Nicholas and the Copeman Empire is dedicated to Phillips, and she is mentioned extensively throughout.
External links
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