Zara Phillips, Queen’s granddaughter, and Mike Tindall expecting Royal baby

Another Royal baby is on the way, with Zara Phillips announcing she is pregnant with her first child.

Phillips, the Queen’s granddaughter, 32, and her husband, former English rugby captain Mike Tindall, 34, are expecting the 16th in line to the throne in early 2014.

The BBC cited a statement from Buckingham Palace as saying:

"Mr and Mrs Mike Tindall are very pleased to announce that Zara Tindall is expecting a baby in the New Year."

Phillips' mother, Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter and Princess Royal, was delighted at the news, the statement added, according to Reuters, as were her father, Captain Mark Phillips, and other family members.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — a.k.a. Prince William and Kate Middleton — meantime, are expecting the arrival of their baby this month.

London’s Telegraph has reported that Phillips, who won an equestrian silver medal at the London Olympic Games, will continue to compete during the early stages of her pregnancy.

The 13th in line to the throne has entered herself into three separate eventing meetings before the end of July, with rides on six different horses.

Phillips met Tindall in Australia during England's Rugby World Cup campaign and the couple married at Canongate Kirk, in Edinburgh, in July 2011, in a ceremony attended by the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and other members of the royal family.

Tindall stirred a Royal scandal just six weeks later, when CCTV footage showed Tindall hugging and kissing another woman at a bar in New Zealand.

He apologized for the incident and said the woman was "just an old friend".