Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall hatched a hilarious plan when her husband Mike stumbled home from a night out, even though he had to attend a major event the next morning
Mike Tindall is celebrating his 47th birthday today, which is likely to include a few drinks with family and friends. But in the past, Zara Tindall’s husband ran into a major issue after enjoying a few too many drinks on a night out.
Recalling the hilarious story earlier this year, the rugby legend had been out on the town with a close friend, and upon making the decision to call it a night, found himself in a spot of bother as he struggled to get back to his mother-in-law Princess Anne’s flat at St James’ Palace, where he was staying.
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Just hours later, Mike was expected to be at a coaching clinic, and Zara was prepared to do whatever it took to get him to the event on time and prepared.
To get her hungover husband up and moving, Anne’s daughter enlisted the help of the palace police, who burst into the room in full riot gear, complete with machine guns, and ordered Mike to get out of bed.
Mike recalled the hilarious incident, saying: “I was meant to be there in 45 minutes. My friend rings up Zara, who phoned the police post at the palace. They started giggling, saying they saw me at 4am on video cameras struggling to get to the doorway. She says, ‘I don’t care what you do. He needs to be in North London in 35 minutes’.”
He continued: “Next thing, five guys in full riot gear with machine guns come in saying, “Get up, get up”. ‘I was, like, “F***!” And in three minutes, I was in the back of a cab, with the police waving me off.'”
Zara and Mike’s relationship started in 2003 after the pair were introduced by her cousin Harry at the Rugby World Cup in Australia. They announced their engagement in 2010 and married the following year.
In the months after the wedding, Mike revealed that his future mother-in-law asked him to get a nose job before the nuptials, as during his professional rugby career, he is believed to have broken his nose at least eight times, which left it slightly crooked. Despite the seemingly outrageous demand, Mike admitted: “It was a light-hearted, jokey comment. It wasn’t a big deal. Look at my nose – can you blame her?”
He was unable to carry out the request at the time as undergoing surgery would have interfered with his training regime, but when he retired from professional sports in 2018, he underwent the corrective surgery.
Speaking about their romance, Mike previously said: “I’ve never been in love before, but Zara is the love of my life. No doubt.”
In 2014, they welcomed their first child, a daughter called Mia, before having another daughter called Lena in 2018. In 2021, Zara gave birth to their first son, Lucas Philip.