As Mike Tindall turns 46 today, he enjoys a tried and tested position in the House of Windsor’s inner circle. But at the start, his antics raised more than a few eyebrows in the Royal Family.
He enjoyed a final weekend away before he married Zara Phillips in 2011, but theformer England rugby player’s stag do in Florida hit the news after he was seen horsing around with friends and racked up a jaw-dropping bar bill. The Royal family let him know they had read all about it.
Mike said: ‘I got ripped. They got stuck into me after I got back from my stag do when it was the Duke’s 90th. Because it was in the papers.’
Mike Tindall guzzling a can of beer in the pool during his stag do in Miami in June 2011
The former England rugby player with Zara Phillips after announcing their engagement in December 2010
He revealed how some had asked him, ”Had a good time did you?’ Read about it.”
The retired sportsman, who is Princess Anne’s son-in-law, checked in to the W hotel in South Beach, Miami with his friends on June 9, 2011 – seven weeks before his wedding.
He made the front page of the Daily Mail at the time after he amassed a $20,000 bill at LIV nightclub in five hours – equivalent to more than £12,000 – on the Saturday night.
Mike enjoyed champagne, vodka and tequila with his friends and the group totalled 1,500 units of alcohol, the Daily Mail reported at the time.
One bottle of vintage Perrier-Jouet Brut Millesime cost them $825 and a bottle of Dom Perignon Rose ’96 was $1,395.
The tab also included ten bottles of vodka, ten bottles of Patron tequila, a bottle of sambuca and 34 cans of Red Bull, all delivered by scantily-clad waitresses.
An onlooker at the time said: ‘Mike and his friends were having a complete no-holds-barred night, they were going wild.
‘Attractive girls joined them throughout the evening and there was a lot of flirting.
‘The boys were dancing on top of the table and seats. Mike had left his card behind the bar – and even the barman seemed astonished at how much they managed to drink.’
Mike seemingly drinking a carafe of red wine while his friends, including Zara’s brother Peter Phillips (left), look on during his Miami stag do in 2011
The sportsman and his friends talking to women by the pool at the W hotel on South Beach in Miami in 2011
Other antics during the lively weekend included a poolside drinking session that lasted eight hours on the Friday.
Mike, wearing a purple hat, was pictured guzzling beer in the water while the drink ran down his chest.
Brother-in-law Peter Phillips joined in with some of the fun and the group embarked on a loud and extremely competitive drinking game.
A fellow guest said at the time: ‘The boys were getting plenty of attention but it was all in good spirits.’
Later on he was seen seemingly drinking a carafe of red wine at a luxurious steak restaurant in the city.
The former rugby player was also spotted almost falling asleep at the table before he headed to a nightclub.
Mike pictured on his wedding day at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on July 30, 2011
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attending a service at St George’s Chapel to mark his 90th birthday
Despite his boisterous partying over the weekend, Mike was photographed smiling at Heathrow Airport when he arrived back in London on June 13.
Mike and Zara wed on July 30, 2011 at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.
Zara spent her final night as an unmarried woman with close family members at the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the late monarch’s official Scottish residence – after partying with friends.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph to promote his upcoming book, The Good, the Bad & the Rugby – Unleashed, with fellow players James Haskell and Alex Payne, Mike revealed how marrying into the Royal Family was ‘easy’.
He wrote: ‘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.’
The Tindalls did not televise their ceremony, meaning it was a more private affair than William and Kate’s spectacular nuptials at Westminster Abbey just three months earlier.
Mike’s mother-in-law Princess Anne pictured attending a rehearsal for the couple’s wedding in July 2011
Zara walked down the aisle with her father Captain Mark Phillips, while her mother, Princess Anne, was accompanied by her second husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence.
Many other senior royals joined the Queen in attending, including the late Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince Harry and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice.
The guest list also featured some of Mike’s England rugby teammates, Irish singer Una Healy and actress Katherine Kelly.
The couple have three children together – Mia, ten, Lena, six, and three-year-old Lucas.