Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall are secretly engaged, according to reports.

Phillips, recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year has apparently told her close friends and family about the engagement, but is keen that a public announcement is held until the summer.

Phillips and England rugby international Tindall have been together for three years, and a royal family insider told The Mail On Sunday: "Zara and Mike are planning to make the engagement official in August, after consulting palace seniors on suitable dates to make the announcement. Even through they are a very down-to-earth couple and keep themselves to themselves, they still have to follow royal protocol. It's not like they can just announce the engagement when they feel like it."

The source added that arrangements are already in place, continuing: "They have already started planning the wedding. Zara wants to wait until after the Olympics in 2008 so she can focus on winning gold for England."