Zara is expecting her third child, her husband Mike enthusiastically revealed in late 2020 during an episode of his podcast – The Good, The Bad & The Rugby. While the third baby Tindall will not receive a royal title, it will still take its place in the line of succession to the throne.
But, thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, even if Zara gives birth to a baby boy, the newborn won’t bump down the line of succession Mia and Lena – the Tindall’s daughters.
The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 is an act of Parliament which modified the laws of succession to the British throne.
This act replaced the male-preference primogeniture with absolute primogeniture.
This means male heirs no longer overtake female ones in the line of succession.
Instead, following this act, the eldest child in the family, regardless of sex, precedes their siblings in the line to the throne.
However, the act applies only to royal babies born on October 28 2011.
Princess Anne, the Queen’s second child and only daughter, was overtaken in the line of succession by her two younger siblings, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
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If the act had already been in place, Anne, her children and grandchildren would find themselves today much closer to the throne.
The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 benefitted in particular Princess Charlotte.
The little Cambridge, who was born in 2015, is currently fourth in the line of succession to the throne – and has remained so even after the birth of her brother Prince Louis in 2018.
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Zara and Mike’s eldest daughter, Mia, is currently 19th in line, while her younger sister Lena is 20th.
While the birth of a baby brother would not have an impact on Mia and Lena, the young Tindalls are sure to be pushed down the line of succession when another royal baby, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s, arrives.
Princess Eugenie is currently 10th in the line of succession while Zara is 18th.
The Tindalls are unlikely to be concerned with their family’s position in the line of successions, as they enjoy their freedom from royal constraints.
Mike’s dad, Phil Tindall, once revealed Zara “always says she is so pleased she wasn’t given a title”, as it has allowed her to live her life more freely than her cousins.
Princess Anne turned down the Queen’s offer to extend to her two children a royal title upon their birth.
In an interview last year, the Princess Royal said: “I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles.
“So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”
Speaking about the upcoming baby Tindall, Mike confessed he was hoping for a boy.
He said during the podcast he co-hosts: “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.”
