Zara Tindall and husband Mike Tindall's daughter Lena celebrated her third birthday this month, but what you might not know is that the little girl almost had a different name!
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In fact, the doting parents initially wanted to name their daughter Elena, but decided against it after realising it would make her initials ET. Zara made the revelation when speaking to the Telegraph in 2018, saying: "I liked the name Elena but I didn't want her initials to be 'E.T.' so she's Lena."
WATCH: Happy Birthday Lena Tindall!
At the time, a spokesperson for the couple revealed that they had simply picked the name because "it is just a name they liked". In Ancient Greek, Elena is the name for light, and Lena is a shortened version of that word. Lena's middle name is Elizabeth, no doubt a touching tribute to her great-grandmother the Queen.
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But that's not the only interesting fact about Lena. The tot was also a record-breaking baby at the time, and was the heaviest royal baby in recent history, clocking up 9lbs 3oz on the scales at the Stroud Maternity Unit, even knocking her cousin Savannah Phillips off the top spot.
© Photo: Getty ImagesLena almost had a different name
Lena is the Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh's seventh great-grandchild and is currently 20th in line to the throne behind her older sister Mia, who is seven.
Lena has only made a handful of public appearances since her birth, but she's often pictured with Mia and her cousins, Savannah and Isla Phillips.
Former rugby player dad Mike also reveals sweet anecdotes about his daughters on Joe's House of Rugby podcast. During one hilarious moment on an episode, Lena could be heard giggling away in the background. Mike laughed and said to his co-host Alex Payne: "Sorry, Lena's just on fire at the moment, she's never quiet."
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