The Mail on Sunday is reporting that friends of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall say they will marry in May next year. They have been secretly engaged for some months.

Mike and Zara at Cheltenham races earlier this year

The favoured venue, as of now, seems to be St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, with a reception at Frogmore House. Zara and Mike were clearly impressed with the ambience of her brother Peter’s nuptials in May. They will not be repeating the involvement of Hello! magazine, however.

Zara’s father, Mark Phillips, who coaches his daughter in her three-day eventing specialism, has asked her to delay an announcement until after the Beijing Olympics to concentrate on winning a gold medal. Zara has been the European Champion and currently holds the World title.

Any other Royal wedding planned for next year is likely to be in mid-summer to avoid a clash.

As it’s a slow news Sunday here’s a shot of the River Exe I took this morning.

The River Exe at Exeter with two canoeists enjoying the June weather

Next week, Zara Phillips, the Queen’s grandaughter, and superhorse Toytown, defend their European three-day eventing title in Rome.

Zara is quoted as saying, “A lot has changed in a short amount of time. I’ve certainly got a lot of confidence these days, which comes from winning the Europeans and the worlds. My confidence stems from the fact that others have belief in me now, a lot more than they had before. I don’t feel I have to prove myself any more to anyone. Nobody gave me those titles. The fact I come from the family I do had no relevance to what I’ve achieved. In fact, if anything, it’s been a disadvantage because of all the added attention.

“I’ve felt all along that I’ve had to do a lot better than others to get them to look at me as a sportswoman.”

At 26, Zara can certainly claim vindication for her long-term goals. It’s not an accident, of course, that her mother, Princess Anne, became European champion in 1971 and represented Britain at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Her father, Mark Phillips, went one better, winning an Olympic team gold medal in Munich in 1972 and an Olympic team silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, as well as claiming the Badminton crown on four occasions.

Zara is still not satisfied, though. “I’ve done okay but there’s still loads of stuff to do. Sure, Mum didn’t win a world title, but she did compete at the Olympics and Dad has an Olympic gold and a silver medal. So there’s still so much to achieve.”

Her goal is to qualify automatically for next year’s Olympics, where the three-day event competition will be staged in Hong Kong. Naturally she’s aiming for gold.

“I’m pretty desperate to compete in the 2008 Games, partly because both my parents competed for Britain at the Olympics but also because Toytown and I missed out in 2004,” she says.

“As soon as London got the Olympics we’ve all been looking around to find the right horse for those particular Games. To be able to compete at the London Olympics will be really, really special. I got a taste of what having home support backing you is like when I won the European title at Blenheim in 2005. It will be 10 times as good in 2012.”

Unfortunately, Toytown’s career will not extend as far as the London Olympics. “Ah, well, I think I’ve found another special horse,” she said.

“I’m not going to tell you its name because there’s a long way to go, but he’s got loads of potential and I’m excited about the future.”

Let’s hope Zara and Toytown hit top form in Rome next week.