Mike Tindall spills the beans on 'royal drama' and reveals his 'regret' about late Queen

Mike Tindall has shared insights into the late Queen's personality and addressed the 'drama' that often surrounds the Royal Family.

The ex-England rugby player, who wed Zara, the Queen's granddaughter, 13 years ago and shares three children with her, is not a working Royal but maintains close ties with key members of the Firm, including the Prince and Princess of Wales. They are regulars at significant Royal gatherings.

Since hanging up his boots, Tindall has graced our screens on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here and co-hosts The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast alongside James Haskell and Alex Payne. Coinciding with their new book release today, the trio delve into various topics, including royalty.

READ MORE: Mike Tindall clashes with Prince Harry in shops after Meghan Markle dig

In the book titled The Good, The Bad and The Rugby - Unleashed, Tindall dedicates a chapter to his Royal connections, offering a candid look at what it's like to be part of the Royal Family and his personal experiences with the late monarch.

He reveals: "I'm sometimes asked if the Queen did informality like 'normal' people, and the answer to that is yes. Her life wasn't like an episode of Downton Abbey, with meals on long tables and everyone dressed in their finery every night, and Zara and I would often watch the racing with her on TV, as I'm sure lots of people reading this have done with their gran," reports the Mirror.

"Lunches were also relaxed, especially up in Scotland, where lunch would often be heading out into the open space of the Scottish Highlands for a picnic.

"There's a great picture of my daughter Mia sitting with the Duke of Edinburgh that captures exactly what those afternoons were like: members of a very close family who loved each other dearly spending precious time together. Yes, there's a lot of drama surrounding the royal family, but they aren't much different to anyone else underneath it all."

Yorkshireman Tindall also shares that the royals fully understood his background and he felt 'completely' accepted. He further comments: "Believe it or not, marrying into the royal family was pretty easy for me. They were always nice to me, and I was always nice to them. Simple really."

This portrayal starkly contrasts Meghan Markle's experience, who has previously expressed her struggles with becoming a Royal when she married Zara's cousin Prince Harry in 2018. She criticised the Firm in her and Harry's contentious Netflix documentary, implying that the Prince and Princess of Wales weren't welcoming towards her.

In addition, this isn't the first instance of Tindall opening up about Queen Elizabeth II. In a special edition of his podcast following her death, he reminisced about the time spent with her and his 'regret'.

Co-host Payne asked Tindall if he realised how fortunate he had been to spend time in the Queen's company, to which he responded: "I do but I have loads of regrets about not asking her so many more things and having nervousness when you get that lucky seat to sit next to her."

When queried about what he would have asked her if given the chance, Tindall responded: "Just going back through history and everything that she's possibly seen like 15 prime ministers and however many presidents it is but to go through everything. When she is meeting dictators, she has to stay neutral and just perform her duty."

In response to whether he had ever posed these questions to the Queen, Tindall further added: "I was starting to get to that point but I hadn't barrelled in - I know you would have barrelled in. But guaranteed, when you sit there, it's not that easy."