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Why we should all be more like Zara and Mike Tindall - the thoroughly 'normal' royals

Zara and Mike Tindall have always seemed like the most normal of royals - Steve Parsons
Zara and Mike Tindall have always seemed like the most normal of royals - Steve Parsons

She may be the Queen's eldest grand-daughter, but Zara Tindall has never seemed like a princess. And when she married a great hulking rugby player from North Yorkshire with a wonky nose and a fondness for a pint or two, she sealed her status as the most "normal" member of her famous family. 

Zara and Mike Tindall have always looked as if they know how to enjoy life. Whenever they are photographed, they always seem to be falling about laughing after sharing a private joke or swinging their adorable little girl Mia between them in a field on the edge of some kind of sporting event. 

Here's why the Tindalls are the royals you could picture being friends with...

The couple pictured at Wimbledon - Credit: Karwai Tang
The couple pictured at Wimbledon Credit: Karwai Tang

They had a thoroughly normal wedding (aside from the guest list)

The groom arrived with his rugby mates and chewed gum outside the church.

The bride wore an off-the-peg dress, said she would keep her maiden name and promised to honour, not to obey.

The guests may have included the Queen, but when Zara and Mike Tindall wed in Edinburgh in July 2011, there was none of the high pomp and ceremony that had marked the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey three months before.

On their wedding day in 2011 - Credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images
On their wedding day in 2011 Credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images

And there was not a politician in sight.

This was a relaxed, modern affair in glorious sunshine, a private wedding for friends at the Canongate Kirk on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

They even decided to forgo the traditional post wedding honeymoon and went back to their day jobs on the Monday. 

Prince George and Princess Charlotte join Royal Tour of Poland and Germany, in pictures
Prince George and Princess Charlotte join Royal Tour of Poland and Germany, in pictures

They're not afraid of a PDA

At Wimbledon last month - Credit: Karwai Tang
At Wimbledon last month Credit: Karwai Tang

In the past couple of weeks they have been photographed canoodling in the stands at Wimbledon and on a beach  in Ibiza. 

Looking like a pair of love-struck teenagers on a post-A levels party holiday, the couple messed about in a beachside bar with friends, cuddling and relaxing like any frazzled parent of a toddler would love to.

Zara covers her husband's eyes while watching a tennis match at Wimbledon - Credit: Karwai Tang
Zara covers her husband's eyes while watching a tennis match at Wimbledon Credit: Karwai Tang

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge give each other the faintest of mushy looks, the Internet goes berserk, but Zara and Mike Tindall have never been afraid to show their affection for one another in public. 

The Queen thinks Mike is a 'proper man'

A seal of approval if ever there was one. 

The Tindalls cuddle in the stands at the Grand National - Credit:  Paul Grover for the Telegraph
The Tindalls cuddle in the stands at the Grand National Credit: Paul Grover for the Telegraph

Former Tatler editor Catherine Ostler told last week how Tindall overcame "discomfort" with aspects of royal life to forge one of the strongest relationships in the royal family.

"The Queen, according to one source, thinks Mike is 'a proper man'," writes Ostler. 

"No doubt she sees a partnership characterised by those rarest of Royal traits: stability, respect, a zinging attraction and genuine affection."

They dress their little girl in high street clothes

Mike with three-year-old Mia - Credit:  Samir Hussein
Mike with three-year-old Mia Credit: Samir Hussein

Little Prince George and Princess Charlotte always look unbelievably adorable in the traditional outfits they always seem to be dressed in, but they must watch their cousin Mia yomping about in her GAP Kids t-shirts and leggings and think she looks altogether more comfy. 

But then, maybe it's a case of like mother like daughter. When Zara was snapped on holiday this week, she was wearing a £25 playsuit from Spanish high street favourite, Pull and Bear. 

The Queen's great-grand-daughter Mia Grace - Credit:  PA
The Queen's great-grand-daughter Mia Grace Credit: PA

Zara doesn't consider herself to be royal

She has spoken in the past about how she is glad she is perceived as being more ordinary than some of her famous family. "I've been very lucky," she said in an interview with the Sunday Times. 

"My parents didn't give us titles, so we've been able to have a slightly more 'normal' upbringing.

"As soon as you've got a title it's very difficult to shed it. My brother and I have been very lucky like that, being able to find our own way."

She added that she doesn't even consider herself to be royal. "But they are my family, so I obviously kind of am," she conceded.