Mike Tindall reveals what the royals are actually like in non-public and why it is ‘nothing like Downton Abbey’

Mike Tindall has revealed what the Royal Family are like in private – and why it’s ‘nothing like Downton Abbey‘.

The former England rugby star, who is married to King Charles‘s niece Zara, is known for his close relationships with several of his wife’s relatives and explained how the royals ‘are a very close family who loved each other dearly’.

In his book, The Good, the Bad & the Rugby – Unleashed, written with co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne, out today, the father-of-three, 46, described watching TV with the late Queen and relaxed picnic lunches with the family.

He added that despite most people’s idea of Queen Elizabeth II’s life, it wasn’t like an episode of Julian Fellowes’ much-loved period drama Downton Abbey, ‘with meals on long tables and everyone dressed in their finery every night’.

Instead, Mike recalled: ‘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.’

He continued: ‘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.’

It’s thought the image Mike referred to is the same photograph shared by the former rugby player to Instagram on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

He shared the picture, which he credited as being taken by the Princess of Wales, alongside a caption that read: ‘It’s been a very sad week but it has given us time to reflect on great memories and stories both personal and shared. 

‘A devoted family man who we will forever miss but always love,’ Mike concluded in his tribute to Queen Elizabeth’s late husband.

The snapshot of Prince Philip, who passed away aged 99 at Windsor Castle on 9 April 2021, showed the Duke sitting outside a log cabin. 

He was leaned over a wooden table to enjoy a meal in the countryside setting alongside Mike and Zara’s eldest daughter Mia,  now 10. 

Mike explained: ‘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.’

In September 2023, during an episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, the former rugby ace explained that he met Queen Elizabeth II long before he joined the Royal Family, aged just 13.

Mike stopped by his former school, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Yorkshire to meet with his childhood rugby coach, Trevor. 

Father-of-three Mike gave viewers a tour of the school, which was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591. 

But it was Queen Elizabeth II that Mike as a child met during her visit to the school in 1992 for its 400th anniversary, a moment he does ‘remember very well’. 

The former rugby union star recalled fond memories of his school days, and proceeded to make a humorous remark about his wife Zara. 

Mike showed viewers a photograph of Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the school.

While Mike did not appear to be in the photograph, he reminisced on the event and said: ‘I think I met her [Queen Elizabeth II] in biology.’

Then, the rugby star made a humorous remark about his wife. He joked: ‘Not entirely sure whether I said to her then that I would marry Zara, it might have come out my mouth, I’m not entirely sure.’ 

Mike met Zara during England’s Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003. The couple tied the knot in a low key ceremony in Scotland in 2011. 

Mike is believed to have had a good relationship with Zara’s grandmother, previously paying tribute to the late Queen on his podcast.

In September 2022, he said: ‘It’s been sad, emotional but happy. In some ways amazing. To see the family come so close together overnight.

‘You never predict it. A 96-year-old lady, you know it’s going to happen but you’re never ready for when it does.

‘Watching what Zara had to go through, obviously she loved the Queen beyond everything else. Their connection with horses, they had a real bond around that.

‘It’s like the world has lost its grandmother in some way.’ 

He continued: ‘I also have loads of regrets about not asking her so many more things… Having nervousness when you sit there, get that lucky seat of being sat next to her.

‘Going back through history and everything she’s possibly seen; 15 prime ministers, I don’t know how many presidents.’ 

Mike and Zara have long been known for their friendly relationships with everyone in the Royal Family, marking themselves as key players binding members of The Firm together.

It includes the pair’s close relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales – and Zara’s close bond with her cousins Beatrice and Eugenie.  

Speaking to The Times earlier this year, one royal source dubbed the couple the ‘glue of their generation of royals, no matter how serious the occasion’. 

‘They can help take the family’s mind off the gravity of what is going on,’ the source said.

‘While some family members can be very “royal”, Mike is just himself and is relaxed and playful.’

Such is the closeness between the cousins they are all part of a WhatsApp group where they exchange messages on upcoming events and family news.

‘Me, my brother and then a few of Zara’s side like her brother Pete [Phillips] and the cousins are on WhatsApp groups,’ her husband Mike once revealed. ‘I wouldn’t say we’re cutting edge, but it’s just easier for some reason on WhatsApp.’

He added on a separate occasion: ‘It’s just what you do to try and set up get-togethers and we are going to something that is the same.’

The Good, The Bad & The Rugby is a weekly podcast that launched in August 2020, starring England legends James Haskell and Mike, alongside renowned broadcaster Alex Payne. 

The podcast series, which sees the trio discuss and banter over rugby, sport, social issues and pop-culture, has since amassed a cult following of three million after 299 episodes.

It has hosted a variety of regal guests, including a 50-minute fireside chat at Windsor Castle with Princess Anne and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The long awaited book is co-written by the three podcast hosts and documents their four year tenure on the show, reflecting on highs, lows, and memorable interviews.