Mike Tindall shares blunt four word verdict on Prince Harry and risky royal jokes
Princess Anne’s son-in-law made a rare comment about Prince Harry and other royals during a candid arts festival appearance
Mike Tindall let loose with some candid comments about Prince Harry and the former Prince Andrew during his appearance at the Hay Festival.
A literature and arts festival that takes place each year in Wales, Mike was there for a special talk alongside his The Good, The Bad and the Rugby podcast co-hosts, James Haskell and Alex Payne.
With the trio joking about guests embarrassing themselves at Mike’s wedding to Zara Tindall, Mike quipped, "A lot of other people managed that way better than you – [like] Harry, when he was fun".
The off-the-cuff comments could suggest that Zara - Harry’s cousin - and Mike remain distant from the Duke of Sussex after he left life as a working royal and moved to Montecito, California with Meghan Markle and their children.
Harry, Zara and Mike were thought to be close at one point, with Harry made the godfather to the couple’s second child, Lena.
While they’ve never commented on Harry’s comments since leaving the royals, the Tindalls are known to be close to Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales. As well as the children being close in age and often being seen together at events like the Christmas walkabout, Mike has shared insight into his dynamic with the Prince of Wales.
During a previous podcast appearance, he even revealed his hilarious nickname for the future king, dubbing him "One Pint Willy, because he is not the best of drinkers".
Back at the Hay Festival, Mike wasn’t holding back when it came to other members of the family - making a crack about the former Prince Andrew that he knew might have got him in trouble.
When his co-host joked about Mike’s royal connections, saying “he’s got his own bedroom at Buckingham Palace”, Mike replied, "Opposite end to Andrew, though."
He followed that up by admitting, "Backstage, they were like, 'It’s being recorded, maybe stay away from [the subject of] Andrew tonight?'"
There were plenty more jokes about Mike’s royal connections. On his corrective rhinoplasty for his broken nose in 2018, his co-host said, "Taxpayers’ money fixed it. It’s got the royal warrant if you look inside it."
Fortunately, Mike is known to share a great relationship with his wife’s family, including his mother-in-law, Princess Anne.
The former rugby champ revealed how he got to jokingly gloat after England’s 2011 victory over Scotland in the Six Nations tournament. Mike, who played for the England team for 11 years, helped claim victory over Scotland, the team Princess Anne has acted as patron of since 1986.
Mike might be hoping to call in some royal favours in the future. As well as cracking some risque jokes, the trio revealed plans for a new TV show.
Hoping to recreate the success of Ryan Reynolds’s Welcome to Wrexham, Mike, James and Alex have filmed a pilot about trying to run a local London club.
And the big plans for this project? Getting Mike’s relatives involved. Alex said, "We could have Catherine meeting the team, the Princess of Wales. These are all massive pipe dreams".
