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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

Mike Tindall addresses royal medal row and jokes he has 'friends in high places'

Mike Tindall has poked fun at his royal medal row and quipped he has "friends in high places" while starring in an ad for pizza.

The former professional rugby player, who is married to Zara Tindall, the daughter of Princess Anne and a granddaughter of the late Queen, appears in the promo for Dominos with pal James Haskell. The pair also appear together on the podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, and the cheeky ad sees James arranging a 'meet the baby' party for his wife Chloe Madeley - but forgetting to order the food for the bash.

Mike Tindall in a new ad for Domino's Pizza (The Good, The Bad & The Rugby/Youtube)

Therefore he calls on Mike to solve his dilemma and the ad sees the royal family member dash to a Domino's takeaway to collect pizza before flying it in a helicopter to the party just in the nick of time.

James tells Mike: "Tinds, what a boy, and in a heli. Someone must have owed you a really big favour, but thank you brother, I appreciate it."

Before Mike jokes: "Standard, you know me mate, friends in high places."

And then James teases: "Calm down, what do you need? A medal?"

Mike can be seen coming to the rescue with pizza (The Good, The Bad & The Rugby/Youtube)

During the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this year and at the Queen's state funeral last month, viewers questioned why Mike was seen wearing medals pinned to his chest as he has no military experience.

However, one of the medals is his MBE while the others are his Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals, handed out in 2012 and 2022 respectively.

And last month on his podcast, Mike addressed his medals and admitted he hated wearing them.

Mike with wife Zara wears his medals after a service for the late Queen in Westminster Hall (Getty Images)

He explained: "I think you would be the same because you class medals as a military honour. Any serviceman, I am deeply appreciative of your service and I have not served anywhere and actually haven't done anything to achieve those medals apart from being in the family.

"So the Jubilee medals, obviously I got married in 2011, so 2012 was her Diamond Jubilee and you get a medal if you're part of the family.

Mike and Zara at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations (PA)

"The people who work in her household get a medal, and if you've been serving in the armed forces for five years, and you're actively in service you get one too.

"So it's harder for [people in the] military to actually get a Jubilee medal unless they served for a long time.

"There's been a lot more as you get a lot more celebrations later in life, so 50, 60, 70, that's where I got one, and the other one was my MBE."

He added: "I can't control it, you get a uniform list and it says the dress code is strict, you wear a morning suit unless you're military."

The ad has been released as Mike has been tipped to be one of the famous faces travelling to Australia to take part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.

The former rugby player - who would be the first ever royal family member to sign up to the ITV show - is said to have agreed to join the next series of the programme as it makes its return to Australia for the first time since the pandemic.

A source told The Sun: "It’s a massive coup. Mike has had a box seat for some of the most important moments in royal history for generations.

"He is sure to be discreet, but his sheer presence means this series will be an absolute must-watch."

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