Mike Tindall adopts royal tradition with loving tribute to Zara and reveals her selfless sacrifice

So much of what the Royal Family does is influenced by traditions, unofficial rules and customs, but non-working royals don’t have to consider these quite as much. Whilst Prince William and Kate only have their Prince and Princess of Wales work Instagram, Princess Eugenie has a personal account.

Meanwhile Zara and Mike Tindall are spotted holding hands frequently at royal events and are incredibly open about their lives. However, it was lovely to see Mike adopt one of the royals’ traditions this year as he marked Zara Tindall’s 44th birthday by sharing an adorable tribute to her on Instagram.

We have come to expect birthday posts from the King and Queen and Waleses, but Mike’s came as a wonderful surprise to me. He occasionally shares snaps of his wife, but this dedicated birthday throwback was adorable and had an intriguing message.

The picture showed Mike and Zara gazing adoringly at each other and was taken last summer as they celebrated the Celebrity Golf Classic tournament, which the former rugby star hosts. Both were wearing pink in honour of the fundraising event and Zara’s fuchsia ME+EM jumpsuit is one of those pieces I wish I snapped up at the time.

On its own this would be a wonderful way to mark Zara’s birthday, but the caption took it to another level. When the working royals write messages alongside their birthday photos they tend to express wishes and reveal who was behind the camera.

In Mike’s, he described Zara as the "better Tindall" and although we don’t know exactly how she spent her big day, we now know how he did - thanks to her selflessness.

He wrote, "Happy Birthday to the better Tindall. She’s even let me play golf on her birthday!"

Since retiring from rugby Mike Tindall has become an avid golfer and Zara’s birthday fell the day before the start of the 2025 IPS Handa Mike Tindall Celebrity Golf Classic tournament. She’s always been incredibly supportive of her husband and his admiration for her as his "better" half was clear to see and such a personal detail.

Mike followed this rare birthday snap with another picture of him and Zara holding hands at breakfast before the tournament. He revealed that he was "getting some final pieces of advice" before teeing off and dubbed his wife his "motivational advisor".

The event is being held at The Belfry Hotel & Resort and whilst Mike might have played golf on Zara’s birthday, she’s there with him for the tournament. I wouldn’t be surprised if the couple enjoyed a low-key dinner together to celebrate Zara and could mark it with more people at a later date.

The couple live on the same Gloucestershire estate where Princess Anne lives, Gatcombe Park. According to Vogue Australia, their home, Aston Farm, has a converted barn that is reportedly known as the "party barn".

This apparently has a bar, catering facilities, a large screen and plenty of seating for gatherings of friends. Co-owner of Magic Millions (Zara is Patron of Magic Millions Racing Women), Katie Page-Harvey, claimed to the publication that it’s "relaxed" when the Tindalls do have people over.

"The highlight is always Friday night when we all come together after not seeing each other all year; it is like coming home," Katie alleged. "It is quite relaxed - and Zara and I both like relaxed - and it is always a joy. It kicks off the weekend on a high and it just gets better."