The queen’s newest great-grandchild was born on the bathroom floor, said the baby’s father, Mike Tindall, in a podcast released on Wednesday.
Tindall is married to Zara, the queen’s granddaughter and princess Anne’s daughter. The boy, born on Sunday, is the tenth great-grandson of Queen Elizabeth II.
“I arrived very quickly, I couldn’t get to the hospital, on the bathroom floor,” said Tindall, a former England rugby player, on the podcast “The Good, The Bad and The Rugby”.
“It was: running to the gym, picking up a mat, going into the bathroom, putting the mat on the floor, fallen towels, brace, brace, brace,” he said.
The midwife was on her way to the hospital, but she changed course and returned home.
“She got there as soon as we had taken the position [position], and then the second midwife arrived shortly after the head arrived, ”he said.
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Zara, who ranks 18th in the line of succession, won the equestrian silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012, and her husband was part of the English team that won the rugby World Cup in 2003.
The couple has two daughters, Mia and Lena, who were not at home at the time of birth. This is her first child, a fact that Tindall seemed to embrace from the moment of her birth.
“The best thing about being at home, the best thing, is that as soon as it’s wrapped up, you skin your skin, straight down, TV room, play golf, and I’m like, ‘This is what I and you’re doing it, ‘”he said.
The baby’s name is Lucas Philip, said the Press Association, a British news agency.
The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, “are delighted with the news,” said a statement from Buckingham Palace.
Zara was feeling well after giving birth and went for a walk the next day, Tindall said.
“As every man will say, she was a warrior,” he added.