Palace "Zara Phillips engaged to be married"

Prince William and Kate Middleton will soon have company on the royal wedding calendar. Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday that Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter, is engaged.

Phillips, an accomplished equestrian, said she was shocked but "very happy" that her rugby-playing boyfriend Mike Tindall had proposed.

No date has been set yet. Phillips is close friends with her cousin, Prince William, who plans to marry Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29. Their engagement was announced last month.

Phillips, 29, is 12th in line to the throne.

The 32-year-old Tindall has played 66 times for England and was in the team that won the 2003 World Cup. It was during the tournament that he first met Phillips in a Sydney bar. Tindall plays for club side Gloucester and is still a regular in the national side.

The palace said in a statement that the couple got engaged Monday evening at their home in western England.

In a statement, Phillips said she was "really shocked when Mike proposed but I am very happy."

Tindall said: "I am delighted that Zara has agreed to marry me. We are both very excited about the next stage of our lives together."