Meghan Markle claim plunged into doubt as Mike Tindall speaks out about marrying royalty

Mike Tindall has revealed his true feelings of what marrying into the Royal Family is really like.

The former England international rugby player tied the knot with wife Zara, the daughter of Princess Anne and niece of King Charles, back in 2011. The couple has three children together and both Mike and Zara are firm fixtures at royal events, being invited to the likes of royal Christmas at Sandringham and the Coronation last year. Now retired from rugby, Mike has appeared on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, and hosts a podcast called The Good, The Bad and The Rugby with James Haskell and Alex Payne.

The trio are set to release a book based on their podcast later this month, with snippets from it being published in The Telegraph. And it seems in the book, Mike recalled what it was really like marrying into the Firm, and the experience he has had. He writes: “Believe it or not, marrying into the Royal family was pretty easy for me. They were always nice to me, and I was always nice to them. Simple really.”

This description is in direct contrast to Meghan Markle, who has previously spoken out about how hard she found becoming a royal when she married Zara’s cousin Prince Harry in 2018. She railed against the Firm in her and Harry’s controversial Netflix documentary, suggesting the Prince and Princess of Wales weren’t warm towards her.

However, it appears to be a different story for Mike, who is believed to be extremely close to William and Kate along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. At the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee two years ago, Mike was seen playfully warning an excited Louis he had his eye on him.

And in an interview with The Telegraph, he also reveals his close bond with 11-year-old George – revealing how he is following in his dad William’s footsteps when it comes to football. He says: “George loves his football. I’ve played numerous times in the garden with him. He’s passionate about Aston Villa, too. Wherever he is, he’ll sit down and watch that game.”