Princess Anne’s unusual request before Mike Tindall married Zara and he ‘couldn't blame her’ for asking

Princess Anne’s unusual request before Mike Tindall married Zara was something that the rugby star admitted he "couldn't blame her".

The Prince and Princess of Wales’s wedding rather stole the show in 2011 but theirs wasn’t the only royal wedding to take place that year. Just a few months later on 30th July, Zara and Mike Tindall got married at Canongate Kirk in Scotland, with a gorgeous reception afterwards hosted by Queen Elizabeth at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Unlike Prince William and Kate, the Tindalls’ ceremony wasn’t televised but there were plenty of beautiful photos taken. The pictures were apparently on the Mother of the Bride’s mind ahead of the big day as Princess Anne reportedly made a rather unusual request to Mike before he married her daughter.

According to Hello!, the retired rugby star allegedly revealed to producers and crew on the set of Sky One’s A League of Their Own that the Princess Royal had asked him if he’d undergo corrective surgery on his nose.

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Mike broke his nose multiple times throughout his rugby career but he’s said to politely turned his mother-in-law down. It’s been claimed that having surgery to straighten his nose would have possibly interfered with his training schedule pre-wedding. Either way, Mike wasn’t at all bothered by Princess Anne’s supposed suggestion. He went on to explain to RadioTimes in November 2011 that the King’s sister had meant the remark in a "jokey" way and hadn’t been serious. 

"It was a light-hearted, jokey comment. It wasn't a big deal, and look at my nose - can you blame her?!" he said, as per The Mirror.

Seven years after Princess Anne’s unusual request, Mike later went on to have surgery on his nose in 2018. He told Hello! that it had become more of a health-focused necessity by that point, though no-one from the Royal Family apparently noticed any difference for quite some time.  

"I was getting a lot of headaches and my sinuses were fully shut so he had to drill me some new ones so it needed to be done," he said. "I would say that I did have it done six weeks before anyone actually noticed, in terms of media wise. It's been fine, exactly the reaction I wanted."

Mike seems very happy with the final result and clearly took Princess Anne’s "light-hearted" suggestion ahead of his wedding in the "jokey" spirit it was meant. This year he and Zara are celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary and have likely been marking this special occasion privately at their Gatcombe Park home. They share the estate with Princess Anne and it was her tiara that Zara is understood to have borrowed for their big day.

Zara Tindall tied the knot wearing a magical Stewart Parvin gown and Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara. This diamond encrusted headpiece reportedly once belonged to Prince Philip’s mother Princess Alice of Battenberg, who became Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark after her marriage. It’s said to have been given to the late Queen Elizabeth as a wedding present before being passed down to Princess Anne. 

As Zara is a non-working royal, her wedding day was the first and last time she’s been pictured wearing a tiara and it finished off her outfit magnificently. It was also incredibly heartfelt that she chose to wear one of her mother’s headpieces when she tied the knot with Mike and that Princess Anne loaned it to her for this happy family occasion.