Mike Tindall has spoken of his regret at not taking his father Phil's Parkinson's disease diagnosis seriously enough, after announcing that his dad has died at the age of 80. The former England rugby international revealed the news on the latest episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, saying his father passed away last week.
Diagnosis and early signs
Phil Tindall, a former captain of Otley Rugby Club in West Yorkshire, was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2003 after struggling with everyday activities like writing, although it took a couple of years before he saw a doctor. Tindall learned of the diagnosis during England's 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign.
The club held a minute's silence for Phil ahead of their match last weekend. The news comes months after Tindall, who is married to the Queen's granddaughter Zara Tindall, admitted in May that his father was "not doing great".
Regret and hindsight
Speaking in 2020 to Charco Neurotech, Tindall said his busy playing schedule and travel demands meant he rarely saw his dad, leaving him "fairly blasé" about the situation "for the next six or seven years".
"I feel that if I'd have taken more notice then, I could have made him get on top of staying physically fit and in shape – but that's all hindsight because it's the knowledge that I have now that might not have been there in 2003," he said. "I wish I'd paid more interest in what was going on with Parkinson's and done a little bit more research back then."
Advocacy and family care
Parkinson's has since become an important cause for Tindall, who became a patron of Cure Parkinson's in 2018. He has spent years raising money and awareness in the search for better treatments and ultimately a cure, and teamed up with Parkinson's UK patron the Duchess of Gloucester for a video conversation to mark World Parkinson's Day in 2021.
During that conversation, Tindall revealed his mother Linda had refused to enlist help to care for his father, calling her a "stoic Northern lady" who "refuses to give her man up". The Duchess said: "It is very tough, and it affects the whole family, not least your mother, who is the prime carer ... for your dad."
Tindall replied: "Yeah, we keep telling her that she doesn't need to be that, but she's a very stoic, northern lady, who refuses to give her man up. We're trying to convince her that you're not giving up your man, you're just allowing the frustrating parts of it that, you know, get you sort of riled up, that someone else deals with and it also gives you a life."
