Queen’s eldest granddaughter goes from renegade royal to Mike Tindall's housewife

As the Queen’s eldest granddaughter and 13th in line to the throne she could have led a life of pomp and privilege before marrying some wealthy foreign prince or a millionaire magnate.

But when Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips MBE walks down the aisle after tying the knot in Edinburgh today she will be plain Mrs Mike Tindall – housewife, horsewoman and homebody.

And that’s just how this fiercely independent young woman has always wanted it to be. For Zara, 30, is the reluctant princess who ripped up the rule book of her ancestors and snubbed her nose at stuffy protocol.
At 17 she flaunted her tongue piercing at her uncle Charlie’s 50th birthday party.
Two years later she hired a waiter in a leather thong to serve drinks to pals as they giggled over sex toys at an Ann Summers party.
And the whole nation knew when her first serious relationship fell apart because Zara was seen brawling in the street, punching and kicking her man.
Zara’s marriage to a burly, broken-nosed rugby player known as The Fridge couldn’t be more different than that other royal wedding three months ago. But friends have revealed it has brought just as much joy to her adoring gran, proud mum and other relations – who respect and admire her determination to remain the renegade royal.