Mike Tindall was in attendance at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s platinum party in June 2022, where he was sat behind Prince William and had a scathing verdict on his brother, Prince Harry
(Image: ITV)
Mike Tindall once made his feelings crystal clear about Prince Harry with a scathing one-word assessment.
The former England rugby union captain and spouse of King Charles’s niece, Zara, is understood to have delivered the cutting remark after Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum celebration at Buckingham Palace in June 2022.
The Duke of Sussex had travelled back to London to participate in the historic event, which took place three months prior to Queen Elizabeth II’s passing at the age of 96, though he chose not to attend the Palace concert.
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Tindall found himself positioned behind Harry’s sibling, Prince William, now the Prince of Wales.
After the concert concluded, Tindall spoke to another attendee, reportedly branding Prince Harry’s conduct as that of a “b******.”, reports the Mirror.
Throughout the festivities, Harry and his spouse, Meghan Markle, made merely one formal appearance alongside the remaining family members, at a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Whilst Zara was observed conversing with Meghan, her husband refrained from engaging in dialogue with Harry, choosing instead to remain quiet or chat with the Earl of Snowdon.
After the service concluded, Zara could be observed alongside her husband, who had positioned himself at the exit, prepared to welcome people as they departed the venue.
Video footage captured them being approached by the Duke and Duchess before Zara and Meghan were witnessed having a friendly conversation.
The Duke and Duchess previously shared a close relationship with the Tindalls but are reported to have grown distant after the Sussexes started mixing with Hollywood celebrities.
Jane Owen, a renowned celebrity PR expert and founder of Jane Owen PR, previously told The Mirror that “Hollywood loves Royalty,” suggesting that both Zara and Mike “can take advantage of that interest and attention.”
In the meantime, it was reported that Harry was “furious” at the idea of Tindall being given a high-profile role at the Invictus Games, a Paralympics-style event he founded in 2014 for wounded military veterans.
Ultimately, Tindall did not accept the role, citing his focus on other interests, which included television work and his podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby. One of his projects that has been making headlines is the proposed breakaway R360 league.
Tindall has been spearheading plans for a revolutionary franchise competition, which had hoped to attract the sport’s biggest stars. However, the controversial plan suffered a significant setback earlier this month when most of the major rugby-playing nations united to warn that any players involved in R360 would be barred from playing in Test matches.
Following advice from the International Rugby Players Association to its members to seek legal counsel before agreeing to an R360 contract, it was a major blow for a league planning to launch in October next year. If it is to proceed, then it must do so without the game’s biggest stars, which would be a significant setback to Tindall’s plans.
The Welsh Rugby Union, currently undergoing a revamp of its domestic game, has backed the statement and reserves the right to exclude players from international duty if they participate in R360.
Plans for the breakaway league involve 12 franchised teams – eight men’s and four women’s – participating in a global grand prix-style competition with matches set to take place in cities including London, Miami, Tokyo and Lisbon.