Olympics 2012: Zara Phillips represents GB eventing team and she will stay in the athletes village

Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, will not only look the part at the upcoming London Olympic Games, she will be living like her fellow competitors, too.

Zara Phillips, Princess Anne’s daughter, is to be given no special treatment, it has emerged, staying in the Olympic village and sharing the same security and transport as other athletes.

On Monday, Zara Phillips, 31, told of her excitement at the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Usain Bolt during her stay.

Zara Phillips, who missed out on two previous Olympics due to injuries to her horse, promised to give her “best performance” in front of a home crowd in London.

Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, will not only look the part at the upcoming London Olympic Games, she will be living like her fellow competitors, too

She said: “Obviously it will be great to be part of the Olympics and get the atmosphere and the buzz of being a part of it.

“A lot of the time, the equestrian is quite far out so they’ve made a really big effort this time to try and have us part of the Olympics and benefit from that.”

Zara Phillips, who will ride as part of the five-strong eventing team at Greenwich Park, around six miles from the main Olympic park, said Her Majesty had been delighted when she told her that she had made the Olympic team.

The former sports personality of the year missed out on Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 after her then horse, Toytown, suffered late injuries.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed because we’ve still got a few weeks to go and we all know what horses are like,” she said.

Equestrian performance director Will Connell said the eventing team would stay in the Olympic village – and was adamant their royal member would be well protected by the security put in place by Olympics organizers.

“It’s not an issue,” he said.

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