Mike Tindall is a “commoner,” as are we all. Tindall’s commoner status is usually discussed in the context of his marriage to Zara Phillips (now Zara Tindall), the Queen’s granddaughter and the Princess Royal’s daughter. Zara always lived life adjacent to royalty, as Anne never wanted her kids to have royal titles, so Zara got some of the privileges of royal life without the responsibility. While Zara and Mike had a bumpy first year of marriage, they are – I believe – very strong right now and a great example of a very compatible couple. So what does Mike Tindall – a commoner who is married to someone sort of royal-adjacent – think about Meghan Markle and her chances within the royal family?
Mike Tindall is ready to welcome Meghan Markle into the royal family. The former rugby player, who wed Prince Harry‘s cousin Zara in 2011, was the first member of the family to speak out on the nearly year-long relationship between Harry, 32, and Markle, 36 — and he isn’t worried about the actress despite the “nerve-racking” experience of dating a royal.
“It comes with a lot of history and the family that it is. It’s obviously nerve-racking,” Tindall, who was born a “commoner” like Markle, told the Sunday People. “But she has been under enough scrutiny and pressure in her day-to-day life so I’m sure she will get through it. She will be fine.” He continued, “As long as they are both happy that’s all that you can ask for. She’ll do absolutely fine.”
Tindall, 38, shared that he has not yet met Markle but said “it will be nice to meet her.”
At the 2017 Farmfoods British Par 3 golf championship this week, the athlete admitted that he’s a big fan of Markle’s TV show Suits and won’t be afraid to press her for spoilers.
“I’m obviously a big Suits fan,” he said. “It’s a very good show. I will definitely try and get the inside scoop on it.”
This is probably the most official kind of comment anyone is going to get from anyone in the royal family, honestly. If and when Harry and Meghan become engaged, I’m sure Buckingham Palace and Clarence House will release formal statements, but we won’t ever hear Charles, or the Queen, or William say “Meghan will do just fine in the royal family, she’s a clever girl, she’ll figure it out.” As for what this means… it means that Mike and Zara are close to Harry. It means Harry has obviously told them about Meghan and his plans and Mike is laying the groundwork for a likely engagement announcement in the next few months. Fingers crossed.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
This feels like another step in the roll-out. Give the nod for the royal-adjacent commoner to give tacit approval to the situation. I can’t imagine Mike would comment without some sort of go-ahead.
Yeah, I am wondering if he and Zara got their invitation to the engagement party.
At the very least he hasn’t been asked not to comment, since this isn’t the first time he’s commented on their relationship. I’m curious to see what happens with her in and around Invictus, obviously she’ll want to support Harry & it seems safe to assume he’d want to share aspects of it with her., but still not have his personal life eat up too much of the press surrounding the events.
Agree. By this point, he knows what and when is allowed to say something about any of the royals. Zara is definitely close to Harry and William. She would not leak anything that wasn’t allowed or would cause them trouble. And Mike would follow her lead. Definitely part of the roll out.
I like the Tindalls. And little Mia looks to be an adorable handful!
Mia is a babydoll. It is sweet to see her with Anne. They just seem more relaxed.
I don’t understand why Meg is bashed so much on the gossip forums. No virgin princess or major ranking career woman is going to marry Harry and deal with the BRF and put up with having to defer to Waity in the area of protocol for the rest of her life. It’s just not worth it.
Well I think it’s on many levels:
1. Harry fanatics aren’t going to like ANYONE he pairs with if it isn’t them specifically
2. She’s an American, and a divorced biracial one at that
3. Tall poppy syndrome. Why does SHE get to be a princess and not ME????
4. Everyone has a negative opinion on social media. I’m telling you, it’s the downfall of society. It used to be you had to own your embarrassing words by saying or publishing them and facing the consequences of expressing them. Now anyone can post comments under a pseudonym.
Now go away you young ones and get off my lawn!!!
😉
I don’t get it cos there’s Camilla. She is divorced, she cheated on her husband and none of that is gossip. Those are facts. Royal family is trashy af, I’m guessing Katie must really love William. Cos why would someone want to be part of it?
I think Mike should stfu cos he never met MM and they obviously want privacy.
Anne divorced her husband for another man, so the Queen has no reason to look down her nose at Meghan – only one of her royal offspring has stayed married.
She’s bashed on the royal forums because those people are American. If I can be a bit uncharitable, a lot of those people like the royals because they are “classy” and white. For a black, divorced American to come in and take Harry, well, that’s not in line with their fantasies at all.
It’s racism. I know, that’ obvious and I hope I didn’t upset anyone by saying so. I follow a lot of royal Facebook accounts and the comments on there…it’s racism. I think the vast majority of people don’t care, but for some, racism is part of it.
Fingers crossed too!
I think you’re right that Mike & Zara are probably in the know. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are already engaged, but are waiting until she’s done with Suits to announce.
I love that he’s a Suits fan. I wonder if the Tindalls have watched all along, or started binging when their cuz and Meghan got together.
I can’t help it but every time I see him, the picture of his nose buried in the cleavage of some hostess/waitress comes to mind. I really hope they are strong now but I’m always skeptical about these pro athletes. Do they really find the path of wisdom, sobriety or do they just learn discretion?
It seems so weird though that the Tindalls have never met her after one year of dating, seeing as they seem so close to Harry and all.
They probably have met her, don’t believe everything you read. You do know that Meghan has visited Balmoral when Harry had his birthday party last year. At the time it happened the public did not know about their relationship but the all the guests at the party probably knew.
Does anyone really believe Mike Tindall is a Suits fan?
Maybe yes, maybe no, but at least he said something nice.
She probably will be fine, too.
Sure but only to be supportive.
Could be a real fan, might be supporting Zara’s cousin, might want a job, or a combination.
“I’m excited as I’m a massive fan of Suits so I want to pick her brain more on that than anything else. A cameo in Suits is one thing I would definitely do, I could be a door bouncer or something. I’ll have to ask Meghan if she can get me in.” from an interview with The Sun in June
Look of course Meghan will have to learn to sink or swim within the BRF. It’ll be easier on her too because Harry isn’t the heir to the heir and he has moved well below the line of succession. Besides, whatever career option does Meghan have save for marrying into the BRF and making it work? It’s not like she’s an A list actress that she’ll still have plenty of tv and movie roles 5-10 years down the line.
You’re basically describing how the industry is for most actors. Marrying is not the only available option for Meghan. I find the suggestion to be rather gross.
Mmm… I don’t think so. She has a few more strings to her bow apart from acting IMO.
Don’t forget she started a couple of business initiatives while working 12 -15 hour days on Suits (her blog The Tig, the fashion line with Reitman’s etc) , so I could see her becoming quite a businesswoman in addtion to humanitarian interests, if her career was to take a different path.
That’s literally the case for 99% of actors. Her career is better than the vast majority of working actors.
Most actors have to do another job on the side. Anyone who is able to earn a living through acting is doing better than at least 90% of actors.
I don’t think things will be easier on the person Harry marries, they certainly weren’t easier on Sarah Ferguson. Harry and his wife will always be criticized more merely because they exist and are on the payroll. Add in heir vs. spare, heir’s wife vs. spare’s wife fake battles in the media just like they did with Diana and Fergie? No, the life of the former spare’s wife will be more difficult PR wise than the wife of the heir-to-the-heir.
Ok this has nothing to do with the article but I cannot stand his nose!! Not his fault, not trying to say he should change anything about it, but it’s just a bit distracting.
Ha! It just looks painful to me, although I’m sure it’s healed and fine. I can’t imagine breathing through it.
Princess Anne had the same opinion, wanting it fixed for the wedding. Nope. He did say he’d fix it after his rugby career was over, but hasn’t done it yet. Or he has, but the fix was only internal (support?) not external. He has to make a living outside of rugby now, so being known as the guy with the sideways nose is something he has over the other former ruggers.
His comment means pretty much nothing.
I love her. I hope they are engaged. She definitely has more charisma and IMO, is more beautiful than Waity. I know that sounds shallow but lets face it, she’s going to be photographed everywhere and wear gorgeous clothes, and she will rock the sh*t out of it.
IMO that’s wishful thinking. No way will they allow her to be more than just a minor little Fergie. Meghan will just get a few charities and “lesser” engagements and then go on vacation for months. She won’t become a work horse. Why should she? Harry is not even the spare anymore. Meghan’s place is in the second row.
Lazy Kate will always win as she is the more important and has the precious kiddies. The press, especially the racist Daily Mail will push the cat fight. The “lovely english rose” vs the foreigner. They’ll paint Meghan as the brown american who has no idea of british traditions and history. They will rip her apart and call her a traitor should she wear her poppy wrong…
Then, of course, the American press would pick it and it would take on a life of its own.
They’ll be required to do a lot more than is being done now, but they will also always be required to do less than W&K. That means pouring effort into outside things that don’t “count” officially, like Invictus Games and Sentebale.
Once August is over they really need to get engaged, this guessing game is driving me nuts. Surely she must have had time to wrap up her commitments to Suits? I also would have thought she would have gone to Balmoral for a day or two to meet the family. It would be nice if they were engaged before Invictus, although she would be mainly in the background and just make the briefest of appearances if any.
They’ve only finished filming the first half of this season. They take most of August off and then start back up to film the second half of the season. At least that’s the schedule they had last year.
Well, I’m only in it for winning a bet and looking at clothes and jewelry, as I dislike the royals overall except for the Queen, for whom I have a guilt-ridden American republican admiration and affection. I also suspect that Tindall wouldn’t have opened his trap if Harry hadn’t given him the green light, but I’m just not sure Harry should have done that, if he did. It’s kind of transparent.
Agree with Ollie though: the long game goes to William and Kate and their kids, Harry and Meghan will be second string players, and the BRF will be very careful to let MM know that part of the price of the package is understanding that and not ignoring it. I don’t think they want another Diana/Fergie media show.
One day, MM will be curtseying to Kate. That’s the ball game. If you want to marry into the system to get its perks and privileges, you also have to abide by its rules.