Zara Tindall’s best friend who helped deliver her son Lucas on bathroom floor to be appointed maid of honor to Princess Royal: NHS midwife Dolly Maude once joked about getting a royal role

She’s already Zara Tindall’s best friend, but now Dolly Maude is about to become her mother’s right hand too after being appointed maid of honor to the Princess Royal.

The mother-of-four, who is an NHS midwife and who famously helped deliver Zara’s third child Lucas on a bathroom floor when the Royal’s birth plan went awry, is seen as a trusted confidante and has been described as ‘fiercely loyal and discreet ‘.

The 51-year-old also shares Zara’s tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

Last January, Ms Maude appeared at Cheltenham Racecourse with her best friend, wearing a badge with the words ‘Lady in Waiting’.

A royal spokesperson later had to clarify that this was actually a joke.

But now the midwife is given an official role under Princess Anne, The Telegraph revealed.

A friend of Mrs Maude said: ‘For the Princess Royal it is a perfect fit because of their shared love of dogs and horses.

‘Not only does she have a very good bond with Zara, she also gets along very well with the princess. She is very loyal and discreet. It’s a great match.’

Buckingham Palace is expected to announce the appointment in the Court Circular on February 1, when Ms Maude will be unveiled as one of four newly appointed ladies-in-waiting to the King’s sister, replacing others who have retired.

A maid of honor is traditionally the wife or daughter of a colleague, but can also be a cousin or close friend.

They act as a companion on royal engagements and assist in their daily duties.

Mrs. Maude is very much a part of the Tindall family. She was present at the birth of all three of the couple’s children and was a bridesmaid when the Princess Royal’s daughter married Mike Tindall in 2011.

The former England rugby international has even described Mrs Maude as ‘more important than me’ given her role in assisting Zara when she went into labor at their Gatcombe Park home with her son Lucas, who is now two.

Speaking about the birth, Mike told his podcast The Good, The Bad & The Rugby how Zara had gone into labor the night before, so they organized childcare for Mia and Lena – but the little boy arrived so quickly they didn’t have time to take it to the hospital.

He recalled: ‘Luckily Zara’s friend is Dolly, she is actually more important than me in making sure she was at all three of my children’s births. She was there and realized we wouldn’t have gotten to the hospital in time, so it was run into the gym, grab a mat, go to the bathroom, towels down, brace brace brace!

‘Luckily the midwife who was supposed to meet us at the hospital wasn’t that far away, so she drove up, got there exactly as we had assumed the position, and then the second midwife arrived just after the head had arrived!’

Mrs Maude was the perfect person to be there at the time, having qualified as an NHS maternity nurse in 2008.

She worked in a hospital in Sierra Leone in 2013, where he taught basic nursing and theater skills and worked for NHS Gloucestershire for almost 16 years.

The two families are close and Mrs Maude is often seen looking after Tindall’s children, Mia, nine, Lena, five, and Lucas, while attending equestrian events.

She has four children with husband Chris: Billy, 26, Nell, 24, Ted, 17 – who was a page boy at the Tindalls and is Zara’s godson – and Mary, 15.

As one accustomed to a busy schedule, Mrs. Maude now finds herself employed by the hardest-working member of the Royal Family, Princess Anne.

According to a recent analysis of public events and official gatherings, Princess Anne carried out 457 royal engagements in 2023 – 32 more than King Charles.

The king finished in second place, with 425 engagements, while his wife, Queen Camilla, came fourth with 233.

The Duke of Edinburgh came third with 297 engagements.

These engagements include events such as the coronation on May 6 and the King’s state visit to France in September.

The Princess Royal and the King saw their workload increase in 2023, as they took on many of the tasks and assignments previously carried out by Elizabeth II.

Prince William and Princess Kate carried out 172 and 128 engagements respectively, with the majority of day-to-day public duties carried out by members of the royal family well into or near retirement.

The lady’s role in waiting for the Princess Royal is also one that could potentially span many decades.

It was previously revealed that of her eleven ladies-in-waiting, two had been in her service for more than 50 years, three for more than 40 years and five for more than 30 years.