Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips throws tradition out the window at engagement

Zara Phillips showed the first signs that she’s going to be a thoroughly modern bride, after choosing a less-than-traditional outfit for her engagement announcement in magazine Country Life.

Rather than don a twin-set and pearls, or a demure and sophisticated dress as fellow Royal bride Kate Middleton did, Zara opted for a £60 fleece and jeans, and posed next  to her beloved black Labrador, Storm.

Zara selected her own outfit after being asked to wear something she felt “comfortable” in and which reflected her “natural” lifestyle, as a sportswoman, a theme which she encapsulated well.

And while a spokesman for Country Life admitted the Royal didn’t choose the traditional attire a lady gracing page three of the magazine often opts for, he praised Zara for showing that “she hasn’t got anything to prove”.

The blonde 29-year-old Royal will marry her long-term partner Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on July 30.

The Queen’s granddaughter and and Princess Anne’s daughter has always been one to live her life the way she sees fit, shunning the usual Royal protocol.

In her teens, former wild child Zara shocked when she showed off a tongue piercing done during a school break. She has also hit the headlilnes in the past for her sometimes wacky fashion choices, and a stormy relationship with former fiancé and National Hunt jockey Richard Johnson.

But overall Zara is widely thought of as a breath of fresh air in the Royal Family, shunning many of the airs and graces associated with the institution.

A keen sportswoman, Zara is a world-renowned equestrian and even won the BBC Sports’ 2006 Personality of the Year.

She is also a designer, creating her own range of of equestrian clothing for Musto Outdoor Clothing, with the line officially launched in July 2010.

Source: entertainment.stv.tv