Zara Tindall might have grown-up with Queen Elizabeth for a grandmother, but her idea of a great evening with her husband Mike is very down-to-earth. The couple attended the Beauty Awards late last year and although they were delighted to be out on the town, Mike admitted that their dream date night is actually a cosy night in.
"We are very low-key. This wouldn’t be our ideal date night," he told the Daily Mail at the time, adding that he and Zara love simply "food, telly and a glass of vino".
A quiet night at home is one of life’s simple pleasures and out of all the royal couples, Zara and Mike have definitely got a reputation as being one of the most laid-back. It makes sense that they like their date nights to be relaxed and unfussy too.
The couple are also said to enjoy a trip to the local pub on a Saturday night, with a source previously claiming that Princess Anne sometimes babysits. They added, "Mike and Zara are a real team, a strong family unit, genuinely still in love, they hold hands in public, and are the best company to be around."
Although the Tindalls regularly attend royal occasions like Christmas at Sandringham and Easter at Windsor Castle, not having official roles in The Firm has given them the freedom to do things their own way and be that bit more relaxed and open in public.
"What truly endears them to the public is their evident affection and wicked senses of humour," woman&home magazine’s Royal Correspondent Emily Andrews remarked in our March issue. "They are not afraid of public displays of affection or a bit of playful banter."
She believes their "family image" - they’re devoted parents to Mia (12), Lena (7) and Lucas (5) - has also "helped to preserve their normality". As Emily notes, Mike Tindall himself is the one who famously shared the news that his son was born on the bathroom floor of their Gatcombe Park home.
It’s hard to imagine any of the working royals sharing these kinds of revelations, or at least talking about them quite so candidly.
The retired rugby star told the story on his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast and really set the scene, explaining Zara's friend Dolly "recognized that we wouldn't have got to the hospital in time, so it was run into the gym, get a mat, get into the bathroom, towels down, brace brace brace!"
He continued, "Fortunately the midwife who was going to meet us at the hospital wasn't that far away, so she drove up just as we had assumed the position and the second midwife arrived just after the head had arrived."
Lucas has just marked his fifth birthday and Mike and Zara will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary in July. The "low-key" couple have a very pragmatic approach to their relationship, with Zara saying at the Beauty Awards that her secret is accepting life’s ups and downs.
"We've been together for 21 years. Nothing runs smoothly ever. You've got to accept that in life. It's a work-in-progress [but] you've got to have fun," she declared.
