Zara Tindall has said she had an 'amazing life' growing up surrounded by animals away from the public eye and is keen to make sure her own children have the same experience.
- Zara Tindall says she was 'very lucky' to grow up out of the public eye and enjoyed spending time surrounded by animals in her childhood.
- She also shared that she wishes to give her own children a similar upbringing to her own.
- In other royal news, Prince Archie and Lilibet’s ‘non-existent’ relationship with their cousins could affect them in this way, expert warns.
Zara Tindall likes to keep out of the public spotlight. She was brought up away from the prying eyes of the public when her mother, Princess Anne, who sits 17th in the royal line of succession, decided not to give her and her brother, Peter Phillips, royal titles when they were born.
Despite Mike Tindall's public popularity after his incredibly successful run on I'm A Celeb last year and regular appearances for interview spots that leave viewers shaking from laughter, the couple, who met back in 2003, have decided to follow Princess Anne's example and raise their kids in private.
For the couple, 'family is the most important thing' and they appear to rely on ‘child-led parenting methods’ that ensure their ‘children's happiness and wellbeing is respected.’ This focus on their children's happiness is something that Zara has revealed she learnt from her mother who gave her an 'amazing' childhood.
Earlier this month in a rare interview, Zara spoke to West Country News about the joys of growing up on her mother Princess Anne's royal estate, Gatcombe Park. She shared, "It was a great place to grow up around horses, looking after animals - the respect and partnership that you have to build with the animals, it teaches you so much you know growing up and as a kid.
"It really is an amazing life starting to be outside as well, you know, all the time."
The upbringing clearly left a lasting impact on Zara who is now an Olympic medal winning equestrian. Speaking about her love of horses, a love held by many in the Royal Family, she told PEOPLE Magazine, "I think just the passion and love for horses that's been passed down and through our family.
"We're very lucky to have them in our lives. Being able to do it every day is incredible and it's such an amazing sport."
And her love for all things horses is something Zara is passing down to the younger members of her family, namely her two nieces 12-year-old Savannah Phillips and 11-year-old Isla Phillips who Zara said are 'really into' horse riding 'at the moment.'
During a recent sporting event held at Gatcombe Park, Princess Anne, Zara Tindall and her three children were spotted enjoying the fairground games on offer. Analysing the rare appearance, one body language expert noted that Zara is a 'gloriously relaxed' parent who is raising her kids to be 'free spirits.'
Body language expert Judi James told The Express, "There’s something gloriously relaxed and tension-free about Zara’s parenting style.
"Unlike other royal children, who are clearly being inducted into royal life and, in the case of Prince George, royal destiny as king-but-one-in-waiting, Zara’s non-royal status has allowed her and her children to behave much more as free spirits.
"Zara and Mike would probably no more expect their children to adopt suffocating formality or restrictions than they would expect themselves. Both are openly loving, tactile and formidably successful in their sports, and both have been known to do a little harmless rebelling in their time.
"On previous days out like this one at Gatcombe, all their children have looked joyful and uninhibited as they try out all the rides and, judging by the mud here and that huge ice cream, it seems as though little Lucas is happily enjoying a large taste of what look like similar levels of freedom, too."
