Prince William. Prince Harry. Princess Beatrice. Princess Eugenie. Zara Tindall. One of these things is not quite like the other – despite all being cousins by blood.
Zara Tindall and her brother, Peter Phillips are the children of Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips.
But, despite their mother being the Princess Royal and the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, neither one received a royal title, unlike their cousins. This might seem even more significant considering Peter and Zara are actually the two eldest grandchildren of the late Queen.
However, the pair aren’t without a title for any nefarious reasons. While some royals can be stripped of titles, Peter and Zara never received one because Princess Anne chose not to, in the hopes of giving the pair a more normal childhood.
And now, the Olympic champion equestrian has revealed how she really feels about it while appearing on the Seven: Rob Burrow podcast alongside husband Mike Tindall.
“From my point of view, I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn't give us any titles so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do it a bit our own way.”
She also touched on the values of hard work they were raised with, adding, “My family has a great work ethic as well which I'm hoping they instilled in me and is still going to this day, hopefully, that we can pass it onto our kids.”
This decision at birth might have defined many of Zara’s choices, as she has famously paved her own path, becoming the first ever royal to win an Olympic medal for equestrian events.
Also in keeping with her understated approach, Zara also declined a televised royal wedding when she married rugby star Mike Tindall in 2011.
Princess Anne herself once shared her opinion on not giving her children titles, unlike all three of her siblings.
“I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles,” the Princess Royal told Vanity Fair in 2020. “So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”
In the same podcast interview, Mike Tindall also shared his cheeky nickname for Prince William.
Proving that they have a great relationship and close bond, Mike revealed, “For the Prince of Wales, he is known as One Pint Willy. He is known to me as One Pint Willy because he is not the best of drinkers, coming from a sport where it is built on the social aspect and a couple of beers being sunk quite often.”
“That is one I will definitely give away for the Prince of Wales," he joked, before adding, “Sorry Sir!”
