Mike Tindall responds to confusion over Queen's funeral medals and explains what each is for

Mike Tindall has spoken about the medals he wore to the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and other ceremonial occasions in the mourning period.

At the time, there was some confusion amongst fans about why he was wearing them, as Tindall does not have a military background.

During a special tribute episode to the late Queen of his podcast, 'The Good, the Bad and the Rugby' the 43-year-old former rugby star acknowledged the backlash he had received, saying: "You class medals as military honour."

He expressed that he is "deeply appreciative" for servicemen and women and explained that two of the medals he was wearing were in fact jubilee medals.

"I haven't served anywhere and actually haven't done anything to deserve them apart from being in the [royal] family."

Tindall added that since marrying the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, in 2011, he had received a medal for both the diamond and platinum jubilees, as had those who work in the sovereign's household and those who have served in the military "for a long time."

The final medal he wore was his Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire — or MBE as it is more commonly known — which he received in 2007.

In the same podcast episode, Tindall revealed his biggest regrets since the death of the monarch.

The former rugby union player admits he regrets "not asking [the Queen] so many more things" and "having nervousness" around Her Majesty.

He said that when given "that lucky seat sat next to her" at events, the nerves would sometimes appear. "When you sit there it's not that easy," he confided.

Read more: Mike Tindall says 'amazing' Queen always made him feel part of Royal Family

When it came to asking her about the important figures the grandmother of eight had met throughout her reign, he said that he had started "to get to that point, but no I hadn't barrelled in."

Although he admitted he had asked her what her meeting with Donald Trump was like.

Tindall also paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth's sense of duty. Mentioning Prince Philip's funeral last year he noted how she had led by example, saying: "where the pandemic was at that time, she made a real statement to everyone else" by abiding by the social distancing restrictions in place at that time.

He said he felt it was the "greatest" example of the Queen's leadership through doing. "All of her family sat on the other side just having to look at her," he added, "and I would imagine every one of them was thinking 'I just want to be there next to her'."

Tindall also opened up about what it was like behind the scenes of the official mourning period for the Royal Family.

He said that "the best thing" about the mourning period had been "people telling stories about her [because] they're a true reflection of what the Queen stood for and what she was."

Tindall acknowledged that given the Queen was 96, "you know at some point it's going to happen, but you're never ready when it does." However the overwhelming response to Queen's death "blew [him] away."

Read more: Mike Tindall says private royal cousins' lunch was Platinum Jubilee highlight

He described what it was like to be "lucky enough to go to Windsor" and see all the floral tributes left by the public on the Long Walk and in Green Park, London.

"It was so positive to be there," he said.

However, when questioned, Tindall didn't believe "the Queen would ever have thought about" how people may one day pay tribute to her. Instead he believes that the Queen "would have just thought that she had done her duty and she'd hoped she'd done it to the best of her ability."

When his co-hosts asked him about his relationship with King Charles, he said: "I almost curtseyed to the King the other day [...] without thinking about it. I was just following behind my wife, saw her curtsey," but "fortunately" he "styled it out all right" into a bow.

He divulged that he "is very aware of the official," when it comes to being around the new King, but that "once the official bit is done [...] I think I would have a way closer relationship [with Charles] because of history."

"Charles has done so much work with the Prince's Trust and everyone has met him as the Prince of Wales, now he's gone up to the King," Tindall said.

Some of the third season of Tindall's hit podcast was recorded before the Queen's death, and the first official episode was released shortly after the tribute to Queen Elizabeth.