Inside Mike Tindall's bond with mother-in-law Princess Anne and her 'jokey' request before his wedding to Zara
Mike tied the knot with Zara in 2011Princess Anne and her son-in-law, Mike Tindall – who is married to daughter Zara – share a very strong bond, and have done so for many years.
July 30, 2025, marks 14 years since Mike married into the royal family when he and Zara tied the knot at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Here’s an inside look at Mike’s relationship with his mother-in-law, Anne, and her shock request to him before his marriage to her daughter.
What Mike Tindall calls mother-in-law Princess Anne behind closed doors
Mike has been part of the royal family for some time now, having tied the knot with Zara Tindall back in 2011.
The couple first met back in 2003 and now have three children together.
Importantly for Mike, he also shares a great bond with his mother-in-law, Princess Anne. But how are things behind closed doors?
According to Mike, he refers to the Princess Royal as “M’am” behind closed doors.
Mike has also spoken previously about how welcoming the royals – and by extension, Anne – were when he joined the family.
“I can only say how kind they’ve been to me, and how welcoming they’ve been to me since joining the family. And how they’ve made my family welcome,” he told the Telegraph in 2021.
“I’ve always felt part of it and I think that’s down to what an amazing woman the queen is. They’re a fantastic family.”
Princess Anne’s shock request to Mike Tindall over his nose
The pair’s bond is so close that the Princess Royal was able to make a “jokey” request to Mike before his wedding to Zara without him taking offence.
Prior to their big day, Princess Anne jokingly told Mike to have corrective surgery on his nose. She even offered to pay for the surgery.
It wasn’t a big deal, and look at my nose – can you blame her?
During his rugby career, Mike broke his nose eight times, leaving it at an odd angle.
Speaking on A League of Their Own in 2011, Mike said before his wedding day: “[Princess Anne] said [to Zara], ‘Can we get his nose straightened for the wedding?’ She’s so keen for it, she’s happy to pay for it.”
Then, speaking to the Radio Times after the wedding, Mike revealed that he’d politely declined his then future mother-in-law’s request. His reason for saying no on that occasion was that it would interfere with his training schedule at the time.
“It wasn’t a big deal, and look at my nose – can you blame her?” he said.
However, Mike did eventually get his nose straightened in 2018 after suffering from breathing problems.
Why Anne told Mike Tindall to ‘move on’ in rugby discussion
Back in 2011, Mike took the opportunity to wind up his mother-in-law after an England rugby match against Scotland.
Princess Anne has been a supporter of the Scottish rugby team since the 1980s, and was named the Royal Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union in 1986.
After the game in 2011, which England won at Twickenham, Mike made Anne wait as she presented his team with a trophy.
Speaking to Closer magazine, Mike said: “I don’t like the majority of the RFU (Rugby Football Union), but I shook every one of their hands and I kept her waiting.
“She was like ‘Move on, Michael.’ I was like ‘Debrief over lunch tomorrow?’, and she said, ‘Move on, Michael.'”
“Most fellas want to get something over on their mother-in-law. It’s quite niche if you’re the captain of the England team and you play Scotland at Twickenham and, when you win, you’re receiving the trophy from your mother-in-law,” he added.
Read more: King Charles and Princess Anne’s ‘special moment’ together demonstrates close sibling bond
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