Mike Tindall, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales Chris Jackson/Getty Images
When Mike Tindall interviewed Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton for his podcast, he wished it could have included more.
“I think the podcast humanized them a little bit, and I kind of wish they’d let us put the uncut version out, because it would have blown the public away,” Tindall, 46, wrote in his The Good, the Bad & the Rugby — Unleashed memoir, per an excerpt by the Daily Mail. “They came across as down-to-earth, fully engaged, funny and knowledgeable.”
He continued, “It was a far more enlightening chat than I expected, not because I thought they’d be dull (I already knew that they weren’t) but because I know how everything to do with the royal family is so carefully controlled.”
Mike, who is married to King Charles III’s niece Zara Tindall, interviewed William and Kate, both 42, on his “The Good, the Bad & the Rugby” podcast in September 2023. (Mike hosts the show with fellow former rugby athletes Alex Payne and James Haskell.)
Prince William’s friendship with Mike Tindall goes back way further than Mike’s romance with the prince’s cousin Zara Tindall. “I’d been [on] the England [rugby] team for a fair while, and [Prince] Harry and William always used to come into the changing room, so [my] mum knew I’d met them before,” Mike told The Daily […]
Mike, Payne, 44, and Haskell, 39, met with the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Mike’s mother-in-law, Princess Anne, at Windsor Castle to discuss the sport. William, Kate and Anne, 74, are all patrons of U.K.-based rugby organizations. The podcast dropped days before the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
During the chat, William and Kate even detailed their history with athletics and being competitive with one another.
“The team environment of sport played a big part in my life and my upbringing,” William said. “I gelled and loved being in that quadrant of fear, noise, competitiveness with your mates and your team around you. I loved the highs and the lows, looking out for each other if someone got injured or if someone was feeling a bit left out, you’d go and make sure they’re included.”
Mike Tindall, James Haskell and Alex Payne Chris Jackson/Getty Images
After becoming a parent, William — who shares sons Prince George, 11, and Prince Louis, 6, and daughter Princess Charlotte, 9, with Kate — couldn’t wait to pass down the lessons.
“It’s that camaraderie, that relationship-building [and] learning to lose, which I think we’ve got to concentrate more on nowadays,” he said. “I think people don’t know how to lose well. Talking about our children in particular, I want to make sure they understand that. It’s really important from a young age to understand how to lose and why we lose and then to grow from it through that process.”
From the rugby field to the palace! Former pro athlete Mike Tindall became a member of the royal family after his wedding to Zara Tindall (née Phillips). Zara is the only daughter of Princess Anne and her ex-husband, Captain Mark Phillips. The twosome — who divorced in 1992 — also share son Peter Phillips. Zara and her […]
Anne then chimed in, admitting that George, Charlotte and Louis have “just a little bit” of a competitive streak already.
“I’m really not that competitive. I don’t know where this has come from,” Kate replied. “I do think [Will and I] haven’t been able to finish a game of tennis. It becomes a mental challenge between the two of us.”
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