Prince Harry’s cousin Mike Tindall once made a joke about the Duke that landed him in hot water. The former England rugby player and husband to Zara Tindall, took a jab at Harry.
This revelation comes from his new book The Good, the Bad and the Rugby – Unleashed, co-authored with James Haskell and Alex Payne. The book includes a chapter dedicated to Mike’s experiences with the Royal Family.
In it, James recalls an incident where Mike, 46, took aim at Prince Harry after he had stepped back from royal duties.
As reported by The Mirror, James wrote: “He [Mike] even got into a bit of trouble when he appeared on a live version of A Question of Sport: he told a story about him and Iain Balshaw pretending to punch Prince Harry at a post-World Cup final party in 2003 and joked that the royal family wanted to fill him in for real.”
“I say trouble but it was a bit of a minor kerfuffle, nothing to write home about. It did come back into public consciousness when that very odd bloke Omid Scobie started sticking up for Harry and Meghan, and loads of trolls went in on Tins, especially about him wanting to fill in a young, defenceless Harry.
“All context, sarcasm and humour lost, when things are taken out of the zone they were meant to be in. To be fair to Tins he gives zero f***s about stuff like that, but it’s very annoying for him.”
In 2011, Mike wed into the Royal Family, forming a tight-knit bond with Prince Harry that was often on display at various events. Yet, it remains uncertain if Mike maintains a friendship with the Duke of Sussex, following Harry’s estrangement from parts of the Royal Family post-publication of his memoir Spare, which includes a notably strained relationship with his brother, Prince William.
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In a stark contradiction to Meghan Markle’s assertions—particularly during her highly publicised 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey and the Netflix series Harry and Meghan—Mike expressed in his book that integrating into the royals was relatively “easy” for him, stating: “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.”
Reports also suggest that Mike has stepped into some of the “roles” vacated by Prince Harry since his royal departure, including taking on the mantle of the “fun uncle”. Speaking to Fabulous magazine, body language expert Judi James noted, “George’s original ‘fun uncle’ and adult playmate did that infamous bolt to the US, leaving a huge Harry-shaped gap in the young boy’s life that Mike has more than filled.”
She added, “Mike is the fun uncle everyone needs, but in the case of Prince George, whose destiny is all about duty and responsible behaviour, Mike’s presence in his life is completely invaluable.”
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