JENNIE BOND: ‘Mike Tindall is fun like Prince Harry but there’s one enormous difference’

The husband of Prince William’s cousin has shared a cheeky anecdote about the Princess of Wales, and one royal expert believes his sharing of Royal Family stories holds one major difference to Harry’s repeated exposés

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Mike Tindall has often spoken about funny Royal Family moments(Image: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Mike Tindall has shared several snippets of information from behind palace walls – with his latest revealing the Princess of Wales’s competitve side and exposing what really goes down at royal parties.

Mike, who is the husband of Prince William ’s cousin Zara, revealed that Kate likes to get stuck in at the party game beer pong – although the royals normally swap out the beer and play ‘prosecco pong’ instead.

The ex-England rugby player, who is Princess Anne’s son-in-law, has previously shared a series anecdotes about the senior members of the Firm, both on his rugby podcast, during interviews and during personal appearances.

 

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Mike Tindall with the Princess of Wales (Image: Getty Images)

 

Earlier this week, Mike told Woman & Home magazine: “Sport is rife throughout the [Royal] family – everyone is competitive. We did a podcast [with William, Catherine, and Princess Anne] on how much they love sport.

“I knew that the Princess of Wales was uber competitive because I’d seen her play a drinking game called beer pong, but normally we play prosecco pong!” It’s not the first time Mike has talked about Kate playing beer pong. In 2023, she, Prince William and Princess Anne appeared on an episode of Mike’s podcast The Good, The Bad and the Rugby.

Again, he referred to Kate as being “uber competitive” to which the princess laughed: “I’m not competitive at all”, and Mike added: “I’ve seen her play beer pong!”

With Mike’s cheeky stories proving to be a huge hit with royal fans, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes there is one major difference between Mike’s harmless anecdotes, and Prince Harry ’s repeated exposés on the Royal Family.

 

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The Prince and Princess of Wales on Mike Tindall’s podcast(Image: Getty Images for Kensington Pala)

 

Jennie told the Mirror : “For the most part he’s very careful about what he says (although the anecdote about the ‘nibble my nuts’ underpants was a bit risqué!).

“The key difference is that Mike never offends or criticises the family and its traditions. He offers glimpses of life behind the scenes, but they are all harmless. Such as what it’s like to ride in the royal procession at Ascot and how sweaty it can be wearing a top hat.

The royal expert continued: “He knows where to draw the line — and it’s all said with great good humour. Harry has overstepped the mark multiple times with his carping about royal life and with his pointed indiscretions, revealing the content of private conversations and arguments.”

While neither Mike Tindall or his wife Zara are working members of the Royal Family, Jennie believes Mike’s fun-loving nature and supportive streak has been invaluable to the Firm, especially in recent turbulent times.

 

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Jennie Bond has pointed out the differences between Prince Harry and Mike Tindall’s stories on the Royal Family

 

The royal expert also believes the senior royals wouldn’t mind Mike sharing these sweet stories, as they don’t reflect poorly on the Firm like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ’s allegations, that they have levelled at the royals since they quit their roles six years ago.

Jennie said: “I think the rest of the family regard Mike as a huge asset, and a solid character who has helped William through some tough times. He’s immensely likeable and seems like a great husband and super fun dad.

“I think they’d forgive him for the odd indiscretion…but he hasn’t been tempted yet into anything too revealing. Just enough to keep us all interested!”