Zara Phillips gives rare glimpse into royal life and reveals annoying habits

By Georgia Farquharson published 20 April 20

Zara Phillips' husband has developed an annoying hobby to keep himself occupied during lockdown.

Zara and Mike joined James Haskell and Chloe Madeley for a live Instagram chat
It emerged that Mike has been playing 'golf on his phone' to pass the time
It follows royal news that Meghan Markle gave her first TV interview since royal split

Princess Anne's daughter, Zara, has admitted her husband Mike Tindall has developed a random hobby since COVID-19 caused everyone to go into lockdown.

The Olympian made the confession during an Instagram Live chat with Richard and Judy's daughter, Chloe Madeley, and her husband, James Haskelll.

Chloe initiated the conversation when she started complaining about her husband James' latest hobby to pass the time during lockdown - his obsession with playing Xbox "all day".

To which Zara, 38, said, "It must be a gaming thing that rugby lads do." Giving a rare glimpse into royal life, she added, "He plays golf on his phone."

But it seems Zara isn't the only one getting annoyed as Mike, 41, admitted his wife's horse antics were getting "ridiculous".

"We need to get out of lockdown because I now know how to tack up a horse, and it is ridiculous," he confessed. "We need to get out of lockdown so I don't have to tack up horses again!"

Thankfully their involvement with Chloe and James' Instagram campaign helped raise a whopping £13,000 for Sebastian's Action Trust - a charity helping families of seriously-ill children.

A photo posted by on

Meanwhile, Mike and Zara aren't the only members of the royal family struggling with time in isolation as the country continues to be gripped by the coronavirus crisis.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also recently gave a glimpse into what lockdown is like with their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - and admitted home-schooling the kids has been challenging.

Catherine confessed she felt "guilty" after the couple made the decision to continue with lessons during the Easter holidays: "Don't tell the children, we've actually kept it going through the holidays. I feel very mean."

She added, "There have been ups and downs, probably like lots of families. With self-isolating, George is much older than Louis is but they are aware."

Georgia Farquharson

Georgia writes across Woman & Home and Good to Know and specialises in all things royal. Previously labelled the "Queen of the royals," Georgia knows the whose who and what's what when it comes to the monarchy. When she's not eagerly following the royal family, Georgia enjoys shopping and self-care. She lives with this motto in mind; "if your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."