Mike Tindall: who is Zara Tindall’s former Rugby Union player husband after it's announced she's pregnant

Former rugby star Mike Tindall has announced his wife Zara, the Queen's granddaughter, is expecting the couple's third child - and he’s hoping for a boy.

Tindall, who was part of England's historic 2003 World Cup winning squad, revealed the news to cheers from his co-hosts on the hit podcast The Good, The Bad & The Rugby on Wednesday 9 December.

The couple are already parents to Mia Grace, six, and Lena Elizabeth, two.

Who is Mike Tindall?

Mike Tindall was born on 18 October 1978 at Wharfedale Hospital in Otley, West Yorkshire.

The 41-year-old was educated privately, attending the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield.

After finishing school, he followed his rugby passion and joined Bath in 1997 aged 18.

He was thrown into a playing squad which had England internationals Jeremy Guscott and Phil de Glanville as the centre pairings.

Yet Tindall was up to the challenge and became a regular starter for Bath after the 1999 World Cup and went on to make his England debut in 2000.

How many caps did Tindall win for England?

His international debut came on 5 February 2000 against Ireland in the Six Nations at Twickenham, scoring a try in a 50-18 win.

England stormed to Six Nations victory that year which saw the start of Clive Woodward's side’s build towards the World Cup.

Before the 2003 tournament, and with Tindall a key figure at outside centre, England won the Six Nations Grand Slam and went on to beat Australia and New Zealand.

Tindall missed the 2007 World Cup through injury and went on to captain his country at the 2011 tournament.

Tindall retired from rugby in 2014, aged 35, having won 75 caps and was the last of England's 2003 World Cup winning squad to bow out from playing.

His club career took him from Bath to Gloucester in 2005 where he went on to play 181 times.

What has Tindall done since retiring?

Since retiring, Tindall has appeared on a variety of charity sporting events including an annual golf classic to raise funds for the On Course Foundation and Rugby for Heroes.

And more recently he has stepped into the world of podcasting alongside former England teammate James Haskell and commentator Alex Payne in The Good, The Bad & The Rugby.

How did he meet Zara?

The couple met during the 2003 World Cup and their engagement was announced by Buckingham Palace on 21 December 2010.

Zara is the daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips, and the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

The couple tied the knot at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on 30 July 2011 and reside at Princess Anne's Gatcombe Estate in Gloucester with their two children.

In an interview with The Times in 2018, Zara revealed she had suffered two miscarriages following the birth of her first child and before the birth of her second.

Speaking on the news of Zara’s pregnancy on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, Mike Tindall said: “Z is very good, always careful because of things that have happened in the past, and really looking forward to it.

“I'd like a boy this time, I've got two girls, I would like a boy. I'll love it whether a boy or a girl – but please be a boy.”