Mike Tindall has humorously remarked that he remembers Prince Harry 'when he was fun' approximately 15 years ago. The former England rugby star, 47, who is married to the Duke of Sussex's cousin Zara Phillips, made the jest at Harry's expense during the Hay Festival.
Although he refrained from providing specifics, Tindall insinuated that Harry may have caused a scene at his wedding to Zara in 2011, five years before Harry met Meghan Markle. During a lively appearance at the book and arts festival in Powys, Tindall also cracked a joke about Prince Andrew and his bedroom at Buckingham Palace.
First, he poked fun at Prince Harry while discussing his marriage to Zara, hinting at mischief during the evening celebration at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Speaking with James Haskell and Alex Payne, his co-hosts on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Tindall admitted he was surprised that fellow England rugby player Haskell had not embarrassed himself during the wedding breakfast and reception. 'A lot of other people managed that way better than you – [like] Harry, when he was fun,' Tindall joked.
Moving on to the former Duke of York, despite having told Haskell and Payne backstage that he would avoid the subject, Tindall made a gag about Andrew. Just hours before it was revealed that police had widened their probe into the ex-prince to include potential sexual offences, Payne joked that his friend 'has got his own bedroom at Buckingham Palace.' Tindall replied to laughter: 'Opposite end to Andrew, though.' He then joked about his repeatedly broken nose from rugby: 'Taxpayers' money fixed it. It's got the royal warrant if you look inside it.'
Mike, Zara, and Harry were once so close that Harry was asked to be godfather to their second daughter, Lena. However, their relationship has cooled since Megxit. In 2022, during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Tindall was overheard referring to Harry with a one-word expletive, allegedly calling him a 'b***end' to a fellow guest at a Buckingham Palace party and reportedly criticizing how Harry had spoken to a member of staff. Twenty-four hours earlier, Zara had acted as a 'buffer' between Prince Harry and Mike Tindall at an 'awkward' Thanksgiving service for the Queen. Tindall appeared to give the Sussexes the cold shoulder on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, looking stone-faced and away from the royal couple as they exited, not joining their conversation with his wife, Zara. Peter Phillips also looked awkward as he stood watching.
Later, Tindall made pointed remarks about an 'outstanding' secret lunch during the celebrations, which Harry and Meghan did not attend, claiming it was the best moment of the week. He said at the time: 'It was outstanding, to be fair. It was just great to be a part of. We had a good cousins' lunch on the Thursday. That was a highlight.'
Speaking at Hay, Tindall revealed that he and his podcast mates are looking to make a documentary about their running of Richmond Rugby Club, in the style of Ryan Reynolds's series about Wrexham or Clarkson's Farm. Payne said: 'We've got some amazing ideas – Amazon Prime are interested – if we can get it going. The Rolling Stones used to practise when they were 16 years old in the Richmond clubhouse, and one of my ambitions is to get Mick Jagger back, because he lives in Richmond, to do a big gig at Richmond Athletic Ground, raise money and get the club back on the map. Tin[dall]'s obviously got good connections. We could have Catherine meeting the team, the Princess of Wales. These are all massive pipe dreams.'
