Zara Phillips' commercial appeal

Sep 14, 2006, 14:43 GMT

Britain\'s Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne, is a monster star in the making... EPA/Rolf Vennenbernd

Britain's Zara Phillips is fronting an advertising campaign for a supplement that helps horses' joints.

The World Equestrian champion - the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth - appears as the face of Cortaflex in the pages of glossy magazine 'Horse & Hound', alongside her horse Toytown.

The only reason Zara was able to front the campaign is because her mother Princess Anne decided to raise her daughter and her brother Peter without the Her/His Royal Highness title.

If the 25-year-old royal was known as 'Her Royal Highness Princess Zara' she would have needed to ask permission from the queen to grant royal patronage to the product.

However, as she is does not have the a HRH title, Zara is able to model for the campaign.

In the advert, she says: "I use Cortaflex because I believe it is the best supplement on the market."

Zara is not being paid for the advert but the company is sponsoring her show jumping in return for her support.

Managing Director of the firm, Phil Middleton, said: "It's not a salaried position, but our company contributes a certain amount to Zara's eventing and she agreed to appear in an advert for us in return."

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "As Zara is not officially a member of the royal family, she did not need to ask the queen for permission to be in the advert."

(C) BANG Media International