Queen Elizabeth becomes a great-grandmother

LONDON | Thu Dec 30, 2010 8:24pm IST

London: Queen Elizabeth, 84, became a great-grandmother for the first time when the wife of her grandson Peter Phillips gave birth to a baby girl, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.

Autumn Phillips, a Canadian, gave birth on Wednesday.

"The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and Autumn's family have been informed and are delighted with the news. The baby's name will be confirmed in due course," the statement said.

Peter Phillips is the only son of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, and her first husband Mark Phillips.

He was the first grandchild of the Queen to marry despite constant media speculation about some of her other grandchildren Prince Harry, Prince William and Phillips's sister Zara.

The baby is 12th in line to the throne.

Her birth also made Zara an aunt. The royal family said last week that Zara, a successful equestrian athlete, was to marry rugby player Mike Tindall.

Peter and Autumn Phillips, who courted controversy by selling the rights to their wedding to Hello! magazine for a reported 500,000 pounds ($772,000), lived until recently in Hong Kong, where he worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland. He now works for the bank in London.