Mike Tindall reflects on Queen’s note that ‘sums her up’ after ‘dignified’ change to plans

Mike Tindall has reflected upon a note reportedly sent by the Queen that “sums her up” after a “dignified” change of plans is said to have taken place. 

• Mike Tindall opened up on his podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, about the past few weeks and revealed a story he’d heard about the Queen. 
• Although he couldn’t be sure if the tale was “100% true” he suggested that a change was made to Her Majesty’s original funeral plans.
• This royal news comes as Kate and William were welcomed to Wales by a determined royal fan in a 'wholesome' moment. 

On September 27 the royal mourning period ended and as the Queen’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the extended Royal Family continue to grieve her loss, one royal has shared a moving new tribute. Mike Tindall, who is married to the late Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall, released a “special episode of reflection” of his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast which he hosts alongside James Haskell and Alex Payne. 

In the episode, they discussed the Queen’s remarkable sense of duty. Mike also shared a special story he’d heard about her that although he couldn’t verify, he said “sums her up” perfectly. 

“There was a good story - whether it’s 100% true I’m not sure, I got sent it by an ex-army friend of mine,” the retired rugby star explained on the podcast. “Basically around the plane that was used to bring her back from Scotland to England and it wasn’t the original plane picked and they had to change it and they went for this big old plane to make it more dignified.”

“This is in the planning, isn’t it?” one of his fellow hosts enquired, to which the late Queen’s grandson-in-law clarified, “Yeah, so they changed the planning.”

Several years before Queen Elizabeth died there were plans being put in place for what was to happen. And Mike explained that he’d heard of a reported change to make one important part of the days following Her Majesty’s death more “dignified”. 

He continued, “It was a smaller plane that wouldn’t have allowed them to get the coffin on very easily and he had to go through this change of process saying, ‘I think we should use just a bigger plane, it makes it more dignified when loading and everything else.’”

Mike shared that “it had to get sent upstairs to get the all clear”, before speaking about a note that was supposedly sent from the monarch herself.

“Apparently the note that came back - whether these were her exact words, but the Queen sort of said - because it was the same plane that was used to bring bodies back from Afghanistan and basically just two lines said, ‘If it’s good enough for my boys, it’s good enough for me’. And that, in itself, just sort of sums her up,” Mike declared powerfully. 

Throughout her reign, the Queen was known for her support for the military and it was very significant to see so many regiments playing a key role in the Queen’s State Funeral. Discussing the service and tributes, the rugby star expressed how touched he was to see the tributes. 

“I don't think it dawned on you, it's when you turned on the highlights and you saw everything,” he said, describing how seeing the flowers laid in Green Park in the week prior to the funeral and the flowers in the Long Mile, as well as other tributes was where “you gauge the importance”. 

Mike Tindall was amongst the royals who paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth at her funeral and Committal Service at St George’s Chapel on September 19.