Inside Mike and Zara Tindall's low-key wedding and how his proposal caught royal 'off-guard'
Mike wanted his proposal to be 'personal'On July 30, 2011, during a breezy summer in Edinburgh, Zara Phillips, the daughter of Prince Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, married Rugby Star Mike Tindall in a low-key wedding.
Their love story was unexpected but grew steadily into the strong partnership we see today.
Unlike the grand royal weddings that draw global television audiences and endless commentary, Mike and Zara Tindall’s ceremony had a quieter charm, making the day more intimate and special.
We take a look back at Zara and Mike Tindall‘s wedding, including their down-to-Earth nuptials.
How Mike got down on one knee for Zara
In 2010, the couple got engaged after officially dating for five years.
Mike’s proposal was intimate and very unexpected on the part of Zara because he wanted it to be personal.
Mike got down on his one knee at their home in Gloucestershire while she was relaxing to catch her off guard.
“I was upstairs, plucking up the nerve to do it, while Zara was downstairs watching television,” Mike shared with The Daily Mail.
“It was all about shock value—I wanted to catch her when it was quiet, and she wasn’t expecting anything.”
It was a success as she burst out with laughter. But this left Mike nervous as he was not quite sure if she was ready to accept the proposal. Zara, then ‘stopped laughing’ and said “yes”.
Read more: Everything Mike and Zara Tindall have said about leaving the UK behind for Australia
The dress, the tiara and the guest list at Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding
A year later, Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding took place in Edinburgh, just three months after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tied the knot.
The cobbled streets of the Scottish capital were lined with well-wishers, but inside Canongate Kirk, the focus was on the couple rather than the spectacle.
The day captured a blend of tradition and informality, showing that even within the royal family, love can shape its own path.
According to Tatler, the tiara that Zara chose to wear originally belonged to Prince Philip’s mother. It was a “Greek Key Tiara from Princess Anne’s collection (often referred to as Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara), made up of diamonds and reportedly created by Cartier in the early 1900s.”
Zara’s dress was reportedly to have been designed by Queen Elizabeth’s favourite courtiers, Stewart Parvin. The gown she wore was an ivory silk creation, simple and graceful, perfectly in keeping with who she is as a person.
The elegance of Zara’s look was matched by the presence of a distinguished guest list. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended, proud to see their granddaughter walking down the aisle. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Princess Kate, were also there, having celebrated their own wedding just months earlier.
Prince Harry, along with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, joined the celebration. While friends from rugby and equestrian communities brought a warm, familiar energy.
Though the guest list carried royal prestige, the atmosphere remained relaxed and true to Zara and Mike’s down-to-earth style.
How Zara and Mike first met
The couple first crossed paths at the Manly Wharf bar in Sydney in November 2003.
Mike Tindall was dropped from the semi-final matches of the England squad for the Rugby World Cup. Feeling annoyed, he asked a fellow rugby player who had also been dropped from the game, along with another friend who was in Sydney, to join him for a beer.
Zara, the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips, was likewise feeling devastated after discovering her horse had suffered an injury. She had decided to go to Manly Wharf to clear her head. There, her cousin Prince Harry, introduced her to Mike. The rest is royal history.
Their first impression of one another was not the stuff of a typical love story where two people fall in love at first sight; largely because they were both feeling low and vulnerable in the circumstances they found themselves in.
Instead, it became a love story that unfolded slowly, a true slow burn.
Family doubts and royal acceptance
Marrying into the royal family might sound like a fairy tale, yet Mike has admitted that not everyone in his own family was thrilled about Zara, especially his grandmother. She was worried about Zara’s royal background and the attention that came with it.
Philip Tindall, Mike’s father, revealed that Mike’s grandmother, in particular, had her doubts.
“She believed her royal connections would hinder their marriage,” he said.
“In her day, royalty married royalty, and she thought the wedding would be shunned.”
Those concerns were not entirely unfounded; at the time, the royal family could seem distant and unattainable, and the thought of her grandson marrying the queen’s granddaughter must have felt almost impossible.
Even so, those early doubts soon faded. Mike himself revealed that Zara’s relatives welcomed him warmly. This included the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who embraced him as a part of the family long before their wedding day.
Building a life together
The couple welcomed their first daughter, Mia, in 2014, followed by Lena in 2018, and their only son, Lucas, in 2021.
The Tindall children, while part of the wider royal family, are not burdened with royal titles, allowing them to enjoy a private upbringing. This balance of royal heritage with an everyday lifestyle has become one of the hallmarks of Zara and Mike’s marriage.
It mirrors Zara’s own upbringing, as her mother Princess Anne refused royal titles for her own children. It’s why Zara was never known as a princess while she grew up in The Firm.
Beyond their roles as parents, both have continued to thrive professionally. Zara has remained a prominent figure in equestrian sports, even representing Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics.
Read more: Zara Tindall reveals shocking way she got royal guards to wake up hungover Mike Tindall
Mike, meanwhile, has carved out a media presence after retiring from rugby, where he often shares candid stories about family life and his unique royal connection.
Balancing the demands of motherhood with rigorous training as an athlete has at times limited Zara’s ability to compete. In addition, she did not qualify for the British team for the 2020 Games.
However, reports note that Zara has since returned to the saddle. She made her first competitive appearance at the Barbury Castle Horse Trials in Wiltshire in March 2025, where she impressively placed within the top ten with her horses.
Their love story, born from chance and strengthened through shared challenges, continues to stand as one of the royal family’s most enduring romances.
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