Queen Elizabeth a great grandmother again
31,Mar, AFP
Queen Elizabeth II has become a great-grandmother for the second
time, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.Isla Elizabeth Phillips was
born Thursday at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester,
southwest England, weighing seven pounds and four ounces (3.29
kilogrammes). She is the second child of Peter Phillips, 34, and his
33-year-old Canadian-born wife Autumn, following the birth of Savannah
Phillips in December 2010.Phillips is Queen Elizabeth's oldest
grandchild and the son of her only daughter, Princess Anne, the Princess
Royal.
Anne, 61, decided that her children would not bear royal titles and
her son keeps a low profile, carrying out no royal duties.Queen
Elizabeth's press secretary said the monarch, her husband Prince Philip,
Anne, her first husband Mark Phillips and the mother's family had all
been informed and are "delighted with the news".
The new baby is 13th in line to the throne. Queen Elizabeth, 85, is
celebrating her diamond jubilee this year, marking her 60 years as a
monarch.Buckingham Palace would not confirm if the middle name had
specifically been chosen as a tribute. Members of the royal family
attended a memorial service Friday at Saint George's Chapel in Windsor
Castle, west of London, commemorating the lives of queen Elizabeth, the
queen mother, and princess Margaret. Queen Elizabeth II's mother and
sister died within weeks of each other 10 years ago.
The queen mother, the wife of king George VI, died peacefully in her
sleep 10 years ago to the day, aged 101, while her daughter died the
previous month aged 71, after suffering the third in a series of
strokes.Their remains were interred in the chapel, next to those of king
George.
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