Mike Tindall has opened up about the final days of his father, Phil, who died earlier this month following a two-decade battle with Parkinson's disease. The former England rugby star, who is married to the King's niece Zara Tindall, announced last week that his father had died at the age of 80.
Mike, 47, who is patron of Cure Parkinson's, has long campaigned to raise funds for the charity's research into the condition, which he has described as 'brutal'. He previously discussed the devastating effect the disease had had on his father, and praised his mother Linda for her care of her husband.
What Mike said on his podcast
Speaking on his podcast The Good, The Bad and the Rugby, Mike, a son-in-law of Princess Anne, told of how his father's passing had been a 'relief' following a tough three months that was 'horrible' to see. He then added: "Anyone who voted against the euthanasia thing hasn't gone through seeing your dad, who you admire so much, go through what he had to go through. It's just not fair."
Mike, a former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here contestant, told his co-hosts Alex Payne and James Haskell that Parkinson's left his father unable to properly straighten his body, as it caused a curvature to his spine. He explained: "He had a big operation on his back, and if anyone saw my dad, he was sort of bent over. He couldn't straighten; he couldn't hook his head up."
Health struggles and final months
"Then it also comes with dietary problems, so bowel problems. He already had a bowel blockage eight years ago which he had to have surgery on, and he [almost] died on the operating table. Then he chose to sign a non-resuscitation thing. So when he went in again in June with another bowel blockage, it was dire from the start."
"But then somehow he managed to sort of get through that. They phoned us three times to say, 'You need to get up here because this could be the last day'. And yet every time I got up there he'd be sat up in the chair... Tough old northern bugger."
Mike added: "It's so easy to be selfish and go, 'I didn't really want him to go,' but I think he lived a great life. He didn't owe us anything."
Assisted dying vote and family tributes
Earlier this month, an attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales was rejected by MPs. The draft legislation had proposed allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
Passionate speeches both in favour and against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill were heard during a more than four-hour debate in the House of Commons. The Bill was voted down by a majority of 16, after 286 voted against while 270 voted in favour.
Phil, Mike's father, had also been a rugby player like his son, captaining Otley Rugby Club in West Yorkshire in the 1970s, with Mike previously thanking them for their tribute last week, when a minute's silence was held. He also shared how his father's love of the game saw him play a match just before he married Mike's mum Linda, a former social worker, in 1969, when he broke his leg.
Dad-of-three Mike, 47, has been a patron of the charity Cure Parkinson's since 2018. He has spent years raising money and awareness as the search for better treatments continues. In 2021, he spoke with fellow patron of the charity, the Duchess of Gloucester about the impact the disease had on his father - and his family.
He told how around the time of his royal wedding to wife Zara, Phil's decline became more marked - and that he needed to use a wheelchair for certain parts of the day. The charity Parkinson's UK expressed sadness at the death of Philip Tindall and thanked the family for their openness about the disease.
