HELLO! magazine 1680

‘It was definitely the most adventurous birth I’ve ever had!’ As one of the most skilful polo players in Britain, Charlie Hanbury is no stranger to hurtling on horseback across a field. But when his wife Yoanna was about to give birth, the sportsman found himself in an emergency dash to hospital – then ended up delivering their baby daughter Catinka by the side of the M4. With no doctor or midwife at hand as traffic thundered past, it would be a daunting prospect for any parent, yet the 34-year-old winner of the prestigious Gold and Queen’s Cups kept a cool head and took it all in his stride. “It was an incredible experience,” he says, inviting HELLO! to meet the new arrival for an exclusive photoshoot at the family’s beautiful Berkshire home,…

‘He arrived very quickly. Didn’t make it to hospital — on the bathroom floor’ He’d made no secret of his desire to have a son and Mike Tindall’s wish came true last week, when he and wife Zara welcomed a baby boy – the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s tenth great-grandchild. Lucas Philip Tindall made his entrance at 6pm on 21 March, weighing in at a healthy 8lb 4oz. Buckingham Palace said the Queen and Prince Philip were “delighted” and “look forward to meeting [their great-grandson] when circumstances allow”. You would imagine a baby who is 22nd in line to the throne would have a suitably regal birth. However, the new arrival was born in a rather unlikely location: on his parents’ bathroom floor. EXPRESS DELIVERY Mike shared the couple’s happy news on his…

LAURA WHITMORE BUMPS UP HER FASHION STYLE Ever the professional TV star, Laura Whitmore put in a well-rounded performance filming her new role as team captain on the hit comedy panel show Celebrity Juice . Getting ready for the birth of her first child, Laura showcased her baby bump in a floral-print Diane von Furstenberg midi (left): “The perfect dress to show off your bump that you can also wear after bubba is born,” she said. The Love Island host told fans late last year that she and comedian husband Iain Stirling were expecting, writing on Instagram: “I want to now share good news as it’s our news to share – and I’m gonna be honest it’s starting to look like my lock down beer belly is out of control.” And there was no…

‘I love bright colours and have never been afraid to use them… it puts me in a good mood’ Striking a playful pose in a room festooned with sequinned bunting, sparkly streamers and a funky silver glitterball, Sophie Ellis-Bextor re-enacts one of the performances that have cheered up her millions of fans during lockdown. The singer-songwriter’s Friday-night Kitchen Disco, which she live streams on Instagram, has gone down a storm during the pandemic, and last week she exclusively invited HELLO! into the heart of the action: her stylish London home. With its high ceilings, jewel-toned rooms, mid-century furniture and retro artwork, the Victorian house 41-year-old Sophie has shared for 12 years with musician husband Richard Jones and their brood is, she says, a reflection of her personality. “I’ve no qualms about putting who…

ALEX JONES Lockdown baby surprise for TV presenter The One Show’s Alex Jones has announced she is pregnant with her third child. “Lockdown has been anything but predictable and we’ve had some really unexpected news – baby number three is on the way,” she said, while hosting the hit BBC1 show last week. Saying she was expecting a girl, the 44-year-old star added: “Yeah, we didn’t see that one coming. But we’re delighted.” Alex, who also has Teddy, four, and 22-month-old Kit with her husband of five years Charlie Thomson, later shared a black-and-white image of her family together on Instagram, with Teddy holding a board saying: “Coming soon.. Baby Number 3.” “The best surprise ever,” she wrote next to it. BINDI IRWIN Conservationist gives birth to daughter Bindi Irwin has given birth to her first child, a baby…

The royal family is considering hiring a diversity chief to ensure broad representation across the household, saying “more needs to be done” to tackle the issue. The introduction of the new role, which was announced after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed an unnamed member of the family had made a racist comment aimed at their son Archie, before his birth, has the “full support” of the royal family. Reports say work aimed at improving diversity in the royal household had been planned for a while, but that the comments made by Prince Harry and Meghan will be taken on board. “This is an issue which has been taken very seriously across the royal households,” a source said. “We have the policies, the procedures and programmes in place but we haven’t seen…