Zara Phillips - Zara Phillips 'Friends' With Mike Tindall's 'Mystery Blonde'

A source who has known Miss Palmer since university revealed, "It is true to say that they are all friends. Zara met Jess through Mike and there have been no issues between them as she has always known her to be a close friend of his". The pair first met in 2001 when Palmer was living with parents in Trowbridge while Tindall was playing for Bath. They are reported to have begun a close friendship which developed into a romantic relationship for "around a year" before Tindall met the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. When quizzed about the now infamous incident in Queenstown's 'Altitude' bar, Palmer's grandmother Joan Turton said, "She is very upset about it. It's making a mountain out of a molehill. They used to see each other years ago and they are now friends. It is totally innocent". A man has pleaded not guilty to illegally accessing a computer to acquire the Cctv video footage of Tindall and Palmer.

Although she attended England's last group game against Scotland in Auckland on Saturday (1st October 2011), it is not clear whether Zara will remain in New Zealand for the team's quarter final match against France this weekend.