Healing from HEARTBREAK Zara’s smiling again
THE ROYAL CONFESSES SHE AND MIKE HAVE SUFFERED MORE THAN ONE MISCARRIAGE
Looking radiant − if not a touch tired − it was a cheery Zara Tindall who stepped out last week in one of her first appearances since welcoming her second daughter, Lena, in June.
With a wide grin on her face as she strode across a polo field, the Queen’s granddaughter looked to be the picture of health and happiness as she awarded a trophy to the winning team of the tournament.
The safe arrival of her and husband Mike Tindall’s much longed-for baby, a sibling for their eldest daughter Mia (4), has thrilled the down-to-earth couple and the whole royal family, after Zara’s heartbreaking miscarriage in 2016.
But just hours before making her appearance at the polo,
Zara (37) revealed in a magazine article that she and Mike (39) had been through even more pain and devastation than the world knew, having suffered a second secret miscarriage before conceiving Lena.
“You need to go through a period where you don’t talk about it because it’s too raw,” says Zara, adding it happened “early on” in the pregnancy. “But, as with everything, time’s a great healer.”
Having been through the ordeal before, Zara and Mike were thankful that the second time hardly anyone knew they were pregnant, and so were spared the agony of having to tell people of their loss. Unfortunately, in 2016, it wasn’t just their friends and family they had to inform – it was the world, as they had announced their happy news just a month earlier.
“For me, the worst bit was that we had to tell everyone – everyone knew,” she says.
“Afterwards, loads of people wrote to me and Mike to say they’d been through the same thing. In our case, it was something that was really rare; it was nature saying, ‘This one’s not right’ … I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along.”
The couple have been praised by many for speaking of their experience, with others living through similar ordeals remarking that those closest to them have no idea what to say or do when it comes to showing support for grieving parents.
Zara says she turned to her family for support, including her brother Peter Phillips, adding he was extremely “protective” and “concerned” about his little sister. “It was a time when my family came to the fore and I needed them.”
Now parents to their two girls, Zara and Mike are getting to grips with juggling both children – and if Lena is anything like the rambunctious Mia, they’ve got their work cut out for them!
Proud dad Mike says it’s going swimmingly so far
– though Britain’s heatwave has thrown up a few hurdles!
“It’s been brilliant so far,” he tells. “I can’t complain, she sleeps, eats. But it’s a bit hot! You buy all these clothes and never need them. We just use nappies. But I’m not going to complain about hot weather in England!”
The Tindalls have been holed up at their home in the grounds of Princess Anne’s estate, Gatcombe Park, since Lena’s birth, enjoying some well-deserved family time.
“Zara’s doing really well,” tells Mike, confessing he most definitely feels “outnumbered” by his three girls.
“She’s always amazing and she’s been fantastic again. And Mia has been a good big sister and is really enjoying it. We’ll see what happens when Lena starts crawling around and getting a bit more attention.”
As their cousins Isla and Savannah Phillips live just 200m away, Mia and Lena will never be short of a playdate, with Peter saying it’s hard to keep his daughters and Mia apart.
“At weekends, it’s always, ‘What’s Mia doing?‘” he tells, before admitting it’s still hard for him to see Zara as a mum.
“When Mia arrived, it was quite difficult to compute.
Zara had always been the little sister and suddenly I thought, ‘Christ, you’ve properly grown up!’”
Zara adds, “I think Pete found it quite strange… I’m not very maternal. But I really enjoyed it all when I had Mia. I shocked myself.”
And her youngest girl, whose name is pronounced ‘Lay-na’, has so far been a delight, “apart from a couple of bad nights”.
Speaking of Lena’s rather unusual name, Zara explains she searched for inspiration for a moniker far and wide, settling on one of Greek origin, which means ‘sunshine’.
“We chose it because it’s a name we both like. It’s also similar to Mia’s because it’s distinct, not shortened from another name,” she tells.
Adds Mike with a grin,
“Her middle name, Elizabeth, is after someone who’s a bit of a legend.”