Mike Tindall has opened up about what the late Queen was really like and addressed the ‘drama’ surrounding the Royal Family.
The former England rugby star married wife Zara, the late monarch’s granddaughter 13 years ago and the pair have three children together. Although neither are working royals, the pair are known to be close to several members of the Firm, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and attend most high-profile royal events. 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 – with the trio releasing a brand new book, which hits shelves today.
And in the book called The Good, The Bad and The Rugby – Unleashed, a whole chapter is dedicated to royalty – and in it Mike attempts to set the record straight about what life being part of the Firm is like – and what he experienced spending time with the late Queen.
He writes: “I’m sometimes asked if the Queen did informality like ‘normal’ people, and the answer to that is yes. Her life wasn’t like an episode of Downton Abbey, with meals on long tables and everyone dressed in their finery every night, and Zara and I would often watch the racing with her on TV, as I’m sure lots of people reading this have done with their gran.
“Lunches were also relaxed, especially up in Scotland, where lunch would often be heading out into the open space of the Scottish Highlands for a picnic.
“There’s a great picture of my daughter Mia sitting with the Duke of Edinburgh that captures exactly what those afternoons were like: members of a very close family who loved each other dearly spending precious time together. Yes, there’s a lot of drama surrounding the royal family, but they aren’t much different to anyone else underneath it all.”
