Advertisement
Home ROYALS

Mike Tindall makes rare comment about family life

The couple share three beautiful children together.
Mia Tindall is a ray of sunshine
Mia Tindall is a ray of sunshine
0 seconds of 44 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:44
00:44
 

They may be members of the royal family, but Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall have made every effort to ensure their children have as normal an upbringing as possible.

Advertisement

Like their mother, Mia Grace, Lena Elizabeth, and Lucas Philip do not have royal titles nor will as adults be expected to undertake royal duties.

Speaking with long-running British anthology comic magazine Beano in January 2025, Mike made a rare comment about family life at home and what makes his wife Zara โ€œscream so loudly.โ€

โ€œMy job now is being a dad and I love it. Itโ€™s important to set a good example, so I play pranks on the kids and their mum. I love hiding and jumping out to scare them. It works best on mum [Zara] โ€“ she screams SO loudly!โ€

โ€œThe kidsโ€™ favourite prank is to hide under the table and tie peopleโ€™s shoelaces together!โ€ he added.

Advertisement
zara-mike-tindall-family
Zara and Mike with Mia and Lena at the traditional Easter Sunday Mattins Service in April 2023. (Credit: Getty)

In June 2024, their doting dad Mike shared further insight into his down-to-earth approach to raising his young brood in an interview with Hello!

Reflecting upon the important role sport had played in both his and his wife Zaraโ€™s lives, Mike revealed he believed that sport โ€œgives so many things to kids.โ€

โ€œWhether itโ€™s learning how to be a team member or determination. It has given me and Zara so much that we want to expose them to as many sports as we can.โ€

Advertisement

He added that the family weekends were โ€œno different to other parentsโ€ and were often โ€œabout the kids and getting them to their sports.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s a mixture of rugby, hockey, swimming, and gymnastics,โ€ Mike shared with the publication.

zara-mike-tindall-family
Mike and Mia after a Battle of the Balls fundraiser football match in January 2022. (Credit: Getty)

While the parents do keep their childrenโ€™s lives relatively private and rarely step out as a family of five, they do occasionally discuss their family life.

Advertisement

Speaking with our sister publication Now to Love, Zara has previously admitted that she often felt โ€œmum guiltโ€ as she attempted to balance her many work (and royal commitments) with being a parent.

 โ€œIf Iโ€™m away and Mikeโ€™s here I donโ€™t feel guilty, whereas if weโ€™re both away then I feel much more guilty.โ€

Her husband shares this sentiment and has previously discussed his heartache when leaving his family for the jungle on Iโ€™m A Celebrityโ€ฆGet Me Out Of Here! UK in 2022 on Good Morning Britain.

โ€œThatโ€™s probably the hardest thing about the whole show, especially when youโ€™ve got the three little ones as well, is being away for that period of time,โ€ he said.

Advertisement
Scroll on to meet the Tindall childrenโ€ฆ

Mia Tindall

zara-mike-tindall-family
Zara and Mike with Mia at the memorial service for the Duke Of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey in March 2022. (Credit: Getty)

Mia Grace Tindall was born on January 17, 2014, at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucestershire, England. Mia is Mike and Zaraโ€™s first child and is currently 10 years old. She is currently 22nd in the line of succession, directly behind her mother.

Zara had previously suffered from a miscarriage, and at the time, Mike and Zara shared that Mia was the one to help them through this time. โ€œThe saving grace for us has been Mia, our daughter who is now 3,โ€ Mike told The Sunday Times in May 2017.

โ€œHowever down we feel, she will come running up in our faces. When I was playing, I hardly saw her; now we can see her grow up. I can take her swimming, and I can take her to Ninja Tots. Youโ€™ll never be able to see her there because she disappears in a puff of smoke.โ€

Advertisement

Lena Tindall

mike tindall lena tindall
Lena attended the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church in December 2023. (Credit: Getty)

Lena Elizabeth Tindall was born on June 18, 2018, in Stroud, England, close to their family home in Gloucestershire. She is six years old and is currently 23rd in the line of succession.

Her name is pronounced โ€œLay-naโ€ and was chosen simply because Mike and Zara liked the name, however, Elizabeth is named after her great-grandmother. 

When Lena was born, Buckingham Palace released a statement that read โ€œMr. Tindall was present at the birth. The weight of the baby was 9lbs 3oz.โ€

Advertisement

Lena has already made headlines for her styles after wearing a gorgeous red coat while at Sandringham for Christmas in 2022.

Lucas Tindall

lucas tindall zara tindall
The birth of little Lucas didnโ€™t go to plan. (Credit: Getty)

Lucas Philip Tindall was born on March 21, 2021, and is Mike and Zaraโ€™s youngest child. He is three years old and is currently 24th in the line of succession. 

Lucas was born in the familyโ€™s bathroom after they realised they wouldnโ€™t get to the hospital on time.

Advertisement

Mike spoke of Lucasโ€™ birth on his podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugbyโ€ฆ

โ€œIt was run into the gym, get a mat, get into the bathroom, get a mat on the floor, towels down, โ€˜brace-brace-brace,โ€™ โ€ he said.

โ€œFortunately, the midwife, who was going to meet us at the hospital, wasnโ€™t that far away, so she drove up, [and] got there just as weโ€™d assumed the [position]. And then the second midwife arrived just after the head had arrived.โ€

Lucasโ€™ middle name honours Mikeโ€™s father as well as Zaraโ€™s grandfather, Prince Philip. 

Advertisement

Keep scrolling for the best photos of Mike and Zara Tindallโ€™s childrenโ€ฆ

lena tindall
(Credit: Getty)

January, 2025

Lena was photographed with a huge grin on her face as she watched horses race around the Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire on January 1st, 2025. It certainly seems like she had lots of fun!

mia tindall
(Credit: Getty)

January, 2025

Mia certainly got into the spirit as she watched horse races in Cheltenham, England alongside her siblings and parents on New Yearโ€™s Day.

lucas tindall
(Credit: Getty)

January, 2025

Little Lucas may not have understood what was happening, but he certainly had lots of fun alongside his siblings at the New Yearโ€™s Day Racing Meet at Cheltenham Racecourse on January 1, 2025, in Cheltenham, England.

Advertisement
(Credit: Getty)

December, 2024

Mia and Lena Tindall joined their parents and extended members of the royal family for the annual Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church.

A child in a blue hoodie holding a black dog on a leash at an outdoor event.
(Credit: Getty)

September, 2024

Little Lena was spotted walking a black labrador at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials in Lincolnshire where her Olympic equestrian mother Zara was competing.

mia tindall lena tindall lucas tindall
(Credit: Getty)

September, 2024

In a rare photo of all three Tindall children, the trio were spotted engaging in a running race together with Lucas taking the lead!

mia tindall
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2024

Itโ€™s hard to believe how grown-up Mia looks! In a recent photo of the 10-year-old, she was spotted walking hand in hand with her doting dad Mike at the International Horse Trials held at Hartpury College on August 11, 2024.

Advertisement
zara tindall lucas tindall
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2024

With a gorgeous blonde head of hair, Lucas is a mirror image of his mother Zara when she was a child. This sweet image was taken on August 11 at the Hartpury International Horse Trials.

Two children walking together, holding hands, outdoors in winter coats, smiling.
(Credit: Getty)

December, 2023

Mia was all smiles as she walked hand in hand with her cousin Prince Louis to the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church.

Woman in sunglasses and child holding an ice cream cone walking on grass at an outdoor event.
(Credit: Getty)

September, 2023

Mother and daughter (Mia) strolled hand in hand through Gatcombe Park as they attended the Whatley Manor Gatcombe International Horse Trials.

Girl in a navy polo holding a jacket; same girl in harness, smiling on a bungee trampoline.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2023

Mia enjoyed her time bouncing around on a bungee trampoline at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park.

Advertisement
Two people smiling warmly at each other, their foreheads touching, in an outdoor setting.
(Credit: Getty)

January, 2023

Zara and Mia enjoyed a quiet moment together at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Child in grey coat with maroon headband, standing on gravel path outside a brick building.
(Credit: Getty)

December, 2022

Young Mia looked adorable in this outfit as she stepped out with the royal family for the annual Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.

A family dressed in formal attire walks hand in hand, surrounded by a crowd with Union Jack flags.
(Credit: Getty)

December, 2022

Lena stole the show in this beautiful red coat as the Tindall family attended the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham. Notably, this was the first service without the Queen.

A child walking a black and white dog on a leash alongside an older woman in a green coat and cap.
(Credit: Getty)

September, 2018

Mia joined her grandmother for a stroll through the Whatley Manor Horse Trials at Gatcombe Park with Princess Anneโ€™s beloved bull terrier.

Advertisement
A girl in a cap holds a toddler with a pacifier and soft toy in a field.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2022

Mia was photographed picking up her little brother Lucas and twirling him around at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park.

Woman in equestrian attire holds a baby, smiling outdoors on a sunny day.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2022

Zara and Lucas at the Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market International Horse Trials.

Woman and toddler interact with a horse; the woman holds the child, wearing a sun hat, at an outdoor event.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2022

It sure looks like Zara is trying to impart her love of horses onto her son Lucas!

A smiling man and young child enjoy a ride on a red Ferris wheel seat, with trees visible in the background.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2022

Father and daughter (Lena) put on brave faces as they rode this Ferris Wheel at the Festival of British Eventing.

Advertisement
Woman in sunglasses and floral top with a child in a denim jacket and green headband at an outdoor event.
(Credit: Getty)

June, 2022

Zara and Lena at the Platinum Pageant on The Mall as part of the Queenโ€™s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

A young girl embraces a smiling bald man in a crowded event, while a woman in a pink dress looks on.
(Credit: Getty)

June, 2022

While the eyes of the world were on the Platinum Pageant, Mike only had eyes for his daughter Mia.

Two young girls with long hair lean out of a window, one wearing a red headband with a flower, both looking intently.
(Credit: Getty)

June, 2022

Mia and her cousin Princess Charlotte were seen peering out the window of Buckingham Palace during the Queenโ€™s Birthday Parade, to get a better look at the festivities.

Father with baby and young girl on a colorful amusement park teacup ride, baby smiling and girl leaning over.
(Credit: Getty)

April, 2022

Mike with Lucas and Lena at the Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market International Horse Trials.

Advertisement
Man sitting on grass with child on shoulders and another child in his lap, set against a green natural background.
(Credit: Getty)

April, 2022

The family enjoyed a quiet moment of peace at the Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market International Horse Trials in Norfolk where Zara was competing.

A woman with sunglasses and a young girl holding a water bottle stand smiling in front of colorful inflatable equipment.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2019

Mia and Zara at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park.

Man smiling with a cap, holding a toddler on his shoulders outside. Toddler looks curious and is wearing pink.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2019

Mike and Lena at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park.

Children walking hand-in-hand on grass, smiling, with adults in the background.
Credit: (Getty Images)

August, 2019

This sweet moment captured between cousins shows Isla and Savannah Phillips walking hand in hand with their little cousin Lena at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park.

Advertisement
Man giving piggyback ride to child at a golf event, with golf bags in the background.
(Credit: Getty)

July, 2019

Mike and Mia playing piggyback at the Celebrity Cup fundraiser golf tournament.

Man in a golf outfit holding and kissing a young girl in a striped dress outdoors.
(Credit: Getty)

June, 2018

Mia snuggled close up to her dad at the 2018 Celebrity Cup fundraiser golf tournament.

People gathered outdoors, one man kneels to comfort a child, surrounded by adults in casual attire, grassy field background.
(Credit: Getty)

June, 2017

Prince William was eager to embrace his littlest cousin at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy Match in 2017. After exchanging some cuddles, the Prince of Wales was even photographed playing a game of tag with little Mia.

A family poses happily at an outdoor festival, holding an inflatable turtle toy.
(Credit: Getty)

August, 2016

Mike, Zara, and Mia pose for a photograph during day three of The Big Feastival at Alex Jamesโ€™ Farm in Oxfordshire.

Advertisement
Group enjoying time outdoors, woman holding child, others smiling nearby, all in casual attire on a grassy field.
(Credit: Getty)

June 2016

Cuddles for Uncle Harry! (or should we say, cousin).

Family outdoors, smiling. Man with medal, child in red, woman in cap. Event with trees and people in background.
(Credit: Getty)

July, 2015

Little Mia and proud wife Zara cheered on Mike after he finished the grueling Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon in Loch Tay Scotland.

Rugby player in a red and white striped jersey carrying a baby dressed similarly on a sports field.
(Credit: Getty)

May, 2014

The earliest photo of Mia Tindall was taken when Mike carried his daughter out onto the pitch following the Aviva Premiership match between Gloucester and London Irish at Kingsholm Stadium

Related stories


Advertisement
Advertisement