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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

Six royal secrets Mike Tindall revealed on I'm A Celeb - underpants fail and dress code

Royal fans were delighted when it was revealed Mike Tindall had signed up to this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

And the former rugby player, who is married to King Charles niece Zara, did not disappoint during his time in the jungle.

He bravely took some terrifying bush tucker trials, wowed the camp with his rapping skills - and even let slip some secrets about the royals - including an incredible story involving his mother-in-law Princess Anne.

And here we round-up some of the biggest royal secrets Mike, who finished in fourth place, revealed on the show from behind palace walls...

Princess Anne's reaction to his trousers splitting

Mike Tindall came fourth on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

In one of his most revealing royal confessions, Mike admitted to an unfortunate gaffe that saw his trousers split in front of his mother-in-law Princess Anne.

The former rugby player revealed to fellow campmates Seann Walsh and Babatúndé Aléshé that he was a fan of dancing but sometimes this leads to suits ripping due to his rugby player physique. He said: "I love a suit. My problem with suits is I over exaggerate dancing at weddings… I rip a lot of suits, trousers and stuff."

Seann laughed and said: "Course you do." Mike continued: "The old sl*t drop gets me every time. I went to a wedding, ripped a suit, they were like, 'Oh my god, what are you going to do?' I was like, 'Don't worry, I've got a spare.' They were like, 'Who brings a spare suit?' Someone who rips a lot of trousers brings a spare suit."

Mike Tindall with his mother-in-law Princess Anne (Getty Images)

Mike continued: "Zara had a 30th birthday, it was a disco 70s themed one, I was dancing on the dance floor, I had like flares on, full outfit but it was quite tight, nothing ever fits - rugby player's bum and legs - so I was dancing with my mother-in-law, and I did a sl*t drop in front of my mother-in-law."

"Ripped my trousers straight in front of her. It happened to be that my boxers that I had on at that time said, 'nibble my nuts'. As I've turned round, she's gone, 'I'd rather not.' I've gone, 'I'm going,' and walked off."

Candid birth story

Mike enjoys a cuddle with his young son Lucas (PA)

In one extremely candid chat, Mike told some of his fellow contestants about the birth of his son Lucas, who arrived very quickly at the family home he shares with wife Zara in March last year.

Sparing no details, Mike said: "As we got our stuff to go to hospital, she got out of the bath, she could barely stand, she was shaking.

"The midwife was like, 'She's not making the hospital.' She was like, 'You don't want to be delivering in the car.' Into the gym, two gym mats down in the bathroom."

Asked if Zara was in intense pain, he replied: "She was, it was fast though, from that moment. She almost choked me to death.

"You can’t say anything can you? ‘Can you let go, you’re really hurting me?!'"

Boozy first date

Zara was there to greet Mike when he left the jungle (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

But 18 years before Lucas' birth, Mike and Zara had their first proper meeting in 2003 during the Rugby World Cup in Australia.

And Mike dished about the early days of their romance telling Babatúndé and Owen Warner: "I was at the World Cup, she was out watching. "I got dropped from the semi-final. I was p****d off and so I went for a beer with another guy who got dropped and a guy who was over [in Sydney].

"They’d met her before and they introduced us and then got chatting."

Owen replied: "So if you never got dropped you never would have met her?"

Mike jokingly answered: "Best decision of Clive Woodward's life" to which Owen added: "Thank god he dropped you."

Zara and Mike hit it off and went for "lunch locally" for their first real date. Mike added: "Ended up being quite a boozy one. Then we figured out that we both quite like getting smashed. It was a good start."

Buckingham Palace dress code

Some of Mike's campmates had questions about the royals (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Although Mike's fellow campmates appeared to keep any questions they had about the royals under wraps, Hollyoaks actor Owen couldn't help but quiz him on what life is like inside Buckingham Palace.

And the soap star was left surprised by Mike's answer when he asked him about protocols and dress codes.

He asked Mike: "Have you been to Buckingham Palace much?" to which he replied: "More than most."

Owen asked: "What’s it like there?" and Mike explained said: "A lot of it’s all the state rooms and there’s only a little bit of living. Yeah [I’ve stayed there]."

Mike and Zara with the late Queen and Prince Philip (FilmMagic)

Owen then quizzed: "In the morning could you go down in your joggers and t-shirt, or did you have to get dressed up again?"

Mike surprised him as he admitted: "No, jeans and a tee," to which Owen said: "I thought you had to be suited and booted!"

Owen worried he was intruding on his private life and asked Mike: "Do you mind chatting about it?", to which Mike said: "No, I don’t mind."

Zara's pet hate

Mike reunited with Zara after leaving camp (Instagram)

Before entering the I'm A Celebrity jungle, Mike shared that he had a habit which Zara always picks him up on.

He said: "Zara’s biggest worry is how loud I am when I eat. She will be very happy if someone comments about how loud I breathe when I eat because it’s always a point that she brings up.

"But when your nose has been mangled as much as mine has - it is just a by product." The rugby player broke his nose eight times during his career, which ended in 2014.

Long bond with Prince William and Prince Harry

Mike with wife Zara and Prince William and Kate at Royal Ascot in 2019 (REX)
Mike with Zara, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and his brother-in-law Peter Phillips (WireImage)

Although Mike didn't talk much about Prince William or Prince Harry and certainly didn't talk about their feud, he did reveal how his friendship with the brothers goes back further than his relationship with Zara.

Owen once asked him: "When you first started chatting to Zara, how late in did you know she was royalty? Straight away?"

Mike confessed: "Yeah, because I know she’s Princess Anne’s daughter. Princess Anne is patron of Scottish Rugby."

Owen went on: "Did you feel a bit of pressure? If I was chatting to a girl and then found out she was royalty I’d be nervous."

Mike explained: "No because we were friends first and then William and Harry were massive England fans at the time, so we’d met them numerous times. Met more of the family than you’d normally have met of the woman you start dating."

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