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Kate Middleton and Prince William (Mike Tindall’s Version).
Mike Tindall, the former England rugby star and husband of Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, has revealed that there exists an “uncut version” of a 2023 podcast interview he did with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, that would have “blown the public away” had it been released.
Tindall, 46, shared the tidbit in his new book, “The Good, the Bad & the Rugby — Unleashed,” named after the podcast (“The Good, the Bad & the Rugby”) that he co-hosts with the book’s co-authors, Alex Payne and James Haskell.
“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 wrote, as excerpted by DailyMail.
“They came across as down-to-earth, fully engaged, funny and knowledgeable,” he explained. “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.”
Tindall’s mother-in-law, Princess Anne (aka the Princess Royal), 74, also took part in the September 2023 interview, which was recorded at Windsor Castle.
The former rugby player, though not a working member of the royal family, has nonetheless witnessed members of the Firm behind closed doors given his proximity to the throne. In his view, the public often gets the wrong impression of the Windsors, who he says are not the “Downton Abbey” characters some might picture them as.
The royals “are a very close family who loved each other dearly,” Tindall wrote, describing the clan as enjoying casual picnics and watching TV with the late Queen Elizabeth II rather than taking “meals on long tables and everyone dressed in their finery every night.”
“Zara and I would often watch the racing with [Queen Elizabeth] on TV, as I’m sure lots of people reading this have done with their Gran,” Tindall added. “Lunches were also relaxed, especially up in Scotland, where lunch would often be heading out into the open space of the Scottish Highlands for a picnic.”
The royal family is known for spending summer holidays in Scotland at Balmoral Castle, a place that held particular significance for the late Queen Elizabeth throughout her life. She passed away at Balmoral on Sept. 8, 2022, at the age of 96.
Tindall also wrote, “There’s a great picture of my daughter Mia sitting with the Duke of Edinburgh that captures exactly what those afternoons were like: members of a very close family who loved each other dearly spending precious time together.”
In the photo, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 at 99, sits with Mia, now 10, outside of a log enjoying a meal.
Of the late queen, Tindall said, “I’m sometimes asked if the Queen did informality like ‘normal’ people, and the answer to that is yes. Her life wasn’t like an episode of ‘Downton Abbey.’”