Mike Tindall’s Candid Quotes About Joining the Royal Family After Marrying Zara Tindall

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Mike Tindall’s Candid Quotes About Joining the Royal Family After Marrying Zara Tindall

From the rugby field to the palace! Former pro athlete Mike Tindall became a member of the royal family after his wedding to Zara Tindall (née Phillips).

Zara is the only daughter of Princess Anne and her ex-husband, Captain Mark Phillips. The twosome — who divorced in 1992 — also share son Peter Phillips. Zara and her brother are the two eldest grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip, who died in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

When Mike met Zara at a pub in Australia in 2003, he was instantly smitten with her regardless of her royal status.

“I'm never a forward planner. I don't think that far ahead,” the former rugby player told the Daily Mail in June 2011 of not realizing who his in-laws would be when he began dating his now-wife. “I think [my mom] was still a little bit shocked, but [both of my parents] were both fine with it.”

He added at the time: “My grandma was a bit more nervous because for her generation the royal family is massive. She was worried whether it was the right thing for me.”

Mike eventually proposed to Zara in December 2010, and they wed one year later at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. The couple have since welcomed three children: Mia, Lena and Lucas.

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Amid their royal romance, Mike has gotten a front-row seat to several historic events alongside Zara and their kids. The pair have frequently stepped out with the royals for annual Christmas and Easter services, as well as the respective funerals for the late queen and Philip. Mike and the Olympian also attended several celebratory events for Zara’s uncle King Charles III’s coronation in May 2023.

The Tindalls were seated next to Peter in the fourth row during the Westminster Abbey service.

“You’re in the hottest spot, but it was all happening just around the corner of wall that you can’t see,” Mike quipped during an episode of his “The Good, the Bad & the Rugby” podcast later that month. “It was unbelievable to be sat where we were. Quite frustrating that you couldn’t see around the corner, but you had the TV there.”

He and Zara were directly behind her cousins Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

“It’s one of those moments,” Mike added on his podcast. “I think the best bit of the day was the six and half hours of military footmen that were in the Buckingham Palace backyard and they did three cheers for the King — it was like whoa, goose pimples.”

Scroll below to read Mike’s most candid quotes about joining the royal family:

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June 2011

“I'd been [on] the England team for a fair while, and Harry and [Prince] William always used to come into the changing room, so Mum knew I'd met them before,” Mike recalled to the Daily Mail of his family’s reaction to his romance with Zara.

He also noted that he “never” got told how to act in front of the equestrian’s relatives. “You get the speech about the right way of speaking when you meet the Queen, but nobody comes round and tells you how to behave,” Mike told the outlet.

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August 2020

Several months after Harry and wife Meghan Markle announced their step down from their duties as senior working royals in January 2020, Mike offered an update on the couple.

“They’re busy doing what they’re doing, and I just want them to be happy with what they’re doing and be happy with each other,” he said on Good Morning Britain. “You know, he’s stressed that it’s all about his family, so you’ve got to support him through that.”

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February 2021

“[Being part of the royal family] has its benefits and it has its negatives,” Mike confessed to The Times. “You think about what you do and you have to be aware of, but it doesn’t necessarily dictate. Zara and I have always been good at getting on with what’s right for us.”

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April 2021

After the late Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99, Mike accompanied his wife to the intimate funeral in Windsor.

“It’s been a difficult 10 days,” he said on his podcast as the family mourned. “If I look back on the [funeral] day, as eerie as it was with no crowds and social distancing [because of COVID-19], and the way everything was, I think it was the perfect day, how he would have liked it, if that makes sense whatsoever. No fuss, get on with it.”

He continued: “It could have been his hat on his carriage that he rides, his gloves or the hat on his coffin — and the sword, the bugle, the piper — there were a lot of things that brought home memories. It was a sad day, but I think it was very well run. He was very well looked after and hopefully he’s looking down and he was happy with the day.”

The family sat in separate pews due to coronavirus pandemic safety precautions.

“My love for the queen was even better. She was sat there completely on her own, separated herself in terms of, ‘This is what the world is right now and I’m going to lead by example,’” Mike added. “And she’s amazing, literally amazing.”

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February 2022

The retired athlete revealed on his podcast that the royal family had their own WhatsApp group chat to share messages.

“I text Ellis [Genge] and said, ‘Mate, please tell me anything she messed up on,’ so I could sort of [mention it in the] family WhatsApp group, get to her,” Mike told his cohosts about Princess Kate participating in a training session at Twickenham Stadium. “He said, ‘No she was actually pretty good, and she was really good at kicking.'”

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September 2022

“You know when you’re following a routine? So, I almost curtsied to the king the other day,” Mike revealed on his podcast of greeting Charles after his ascension. “Without thinking about it. I was just following behind my wife, saw her curtsy, sort of — and then, fortunately, didn’t.”

He ultimately managed to “style out” his almost-bow. “I might have looked like I stubbed my toe or something on the floor,” he quipped.

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May 2023

Mike and Zara enjoyed the musical performances at Charles’ Coronation Concert, though he knew his dancing was not the best.

“It’s very difficult when you’re on a raised platform that’s under a lot of lights, I felt I didn’t really put my best foot forward in terms of [my dancing],” he said during an appearance on Good Morning Britain. “If you started doing interesting dance maneuvers on that platform next to the king, I’m not entirely sure it would have gone down that well!”

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May 2023

Weeks later, Mike opened up about his and Zara’s seats inside the actual crowning ceremony. “You’re in the hottest spot, but it was all happening just around the corner of wall that you can’t see,” he quipped on his podcast.