In a surprising twist ahead of Zara Tyndall’s wedding, Mike Tyndall found himself at the center of a royal request from Princess Anne.
The Princess Royal asked the former rugby star to consider a significant change to his appearance, but Mike politely declined her suggestion.
Instead of attending the traditional Easter Sunday service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, Zara and Mike opted for a weekend at Thorsby Hall in Nottinghamshire, where Zara was competing in a three-day horse event.
This year’s Easter service saw the absence of several notable royals, including Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Zara and Mike hold unique positions within the royal family, largely because Princess Anne chose not to grant Zara a title, allowing her to live a more ordinary life away from the public eye.
While many aspects of their lives remain private, some details have emerged over the years.
One particularly intriguing anecdote involves Mike’s rejection of Princess Anne’s offer to pay for surgery to fix his famously crooked nose.
As an ex-rugby union player, Mike endured numerous injuries throughout his career, including breaking his nose four times, which left it permanently askew.
Due to the damage sustained during games, Mike had to breathe through his mouth, as both nostrils had collapsed, resulting in a nose that was angled at an unfortunate 45 degrees.
When he and Zara exchanged vows in 2011, Mike was still actively playing rugby.
In the lead-up to their wedding, Princess Anne made a rather bold request: she offered to cover the cost of having his nose fixed.
With a touch of humor, Mike turned down the offer, explaining his concerns about potentially injuring it again and how it could interfere with his training.
After tying the knot, he jokingly remarked about the situation, quipping, “Can you blame her for my nose?” It was a light-hearted moment that reflected their close relationship.
Years later, in 2018, Mike finally decided to undergo surgery to correct his nose, just before the highly publicized wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The couple had been together for six years before announcing their engagement in 2010, having met while Mike was preparing for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Their initial meeting occurred in a Sydney bar at Manly Wharf, where they instantly connected.
Zara once recounted how Mike coped with the disappointment of being left out of the England team before the semi-finals, revealing that he turned to drinks to numb the pain of his exclusion.
In a candid interview with the Australian television program “60 Minutes,” Zara shared insights into their relationship, noting how their bond deepened after that fateful night in Sydney.
