Mike Tindall, former England rugby captain and member of the Royal Family by marriage, has shared a colourful reaction to a sartorial suggestion from his wife Zara and mother-in-law, Princess Anne.
The 47-year-old, renowned for an illustrious rugby career that included 75 England caps, a World Cup victory, and competing in 11 Six Nations Championships, was once encouraged to embrace a more Scottish style by donning tartan trews – traditional Highland Dress trousers often worn alongside kilts.
Zara, 45, who has strong Scottish connections through her education at Gordonstoun School, and Princess Anne, patron of Scottish rugby, both thought the tartan trousers would suit Mike. However, the former rugby star felt differently.
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Speaking at a charity event, Mike recounted his response: “We got married in Scotland and Zara was schooled in Scotland. Obviously, my mother-in-law is patron of Scottish rugby. They keep on that they need to get me a pair of trews. I am, like, ‘F*** off’. I have spent my whole life trying to kill a Scotsman. I don’t want to wear their trousers.”
The couple mark their 15th wedding anniversary today, July 30, celebrating a marriage that began with a ceremony at Canongate Kirk church in Scotland in 2011. The location reflected Zara’s fondness for her late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s Balmoral Estate and memories of her schooling.
Mike’s resistance to family suggestions does not end with clothing. He also declined a proposal from Princess Anne that he have surgery on his nose before the wedding. Having sustained multiple nasal injuries during his rugby career, the decision was his own, though he later underwent correction surgery before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018.
On the television programme Loose Women in 2022, Mike confirmed his nose surgery was primarily for medical reasons, addressing breathing difficulties during sleep. He also mentioned having dental work done to correct his crossed teeth, humorously likening their previous state to ‘a bag of chips.’