King Charles’ niece, British equestrian Zara Tindall, shared Mia, Lena, and Lucas with her former England rugby star husband, Mike

ith the Prince and Princess of Wales’ nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, having been honoured with a Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) for her services to the couple in the New Year Honours list earlier this month, royal fans are left wondering if other royal couples also have nannies to help them look after their brood.

Zara Tindall, the daughter of Princess Anne and her former husband, Captain Mark Phillips, is a mother to three little ones, Mia, 10, Lena, seven, and Lucas, four, with her ex-England rugby star husband Mike Tindall. She has spoken openly about going down a different childcare route than her cousin, Prince William.

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Zara has denied employing a nanny to look after her children

“The press have printed that I have a nanny, who is my best mate Dolly Maude, which they obviously haven’t realised…” she said in 2014 after the birth of Mia. “She’s been to two competitions and helped me and she’s apparently my nanny…but she’s not, she’s got four of her own kids to look after.”

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Zara with her children, Lucas and Lena, at the Hartpury International Horse Trials

In response to being asked at the time if she would put work on hold to become a full-time mother, Zara said: “I am a full-time mother!” She added: “I don’t know. The bigger they [babies] get, it’s easier for you to get back to what you were doing before.”

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Do Zara Tindall’s children make public appearances?

While Zara and Mike’s children might not have the same high profile as their cousins, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, they have made an appearance at a handful of public events.

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Lucas made a rare appearance as he joined his parents at the New Year’s Day Racing Meet

They are most often seen joining their parents at equestrian events near the Tindall family home on Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate in the Cotswolds. Most recently, all three of her children joined her at the New Year’s Day Racing Meet at Cheltenham Racecourse on 1 January.

The children have seemingly inherited their parents’ competitive streak when it comes to an enthusiasm for sports. They were seen animatedly cheering from the stands.

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Mia Tindall was publicly reunited with her cousin, Savannah Phillips on New Year’s Day

Meanwhile, Mia and Lena were their mother’s doubles at the Christmas Day walkabout at Sandringham this year with their lookalike blonde hair and winter coats.

What does a royal nanny do?

Though Zara and Mike do not employ a nanny, William and Kate have formed a close bond with theirs. Maria joined their household in 2014 after the 2013 birth of Prince George.

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Maria, the Wales family’s nanny, at Princess Charlotte’s christening back in 2015

Though she doesn’t live with them at Forest Lodge in Windsor, she has a number of daytime duties, having been trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath. Louenna Hood, a fellow Norland nanny, told HELLO! previously that a nanny’s duties can include:

Organising school pick-ups and planning logistics of the different pick-up times due to after-school sports and clubs.
Ensuring each child has a filling breakfast before school.
Remembering to send the children to school each day in the right uniform or sports kit.
Engaging with them during car journeys to offer a safe space to talk about how they are feeling.
Planning nutritional evening meals and liaising with school menus so they don’t eat the same meal twice in one day.