Mike Tindall has announced the death of his father, Phil, who passed away last week aged 79 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease
The father of the former England rugby star battled Parkinson’s disease(Image: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Mike Tindall has announced the heartbreaking death of his father, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease.
The former England rugby international broke the sad news during the latest episode of the podcast he co-hosts, revealing his dad passed away last week at the age of 79. Mike, who is married to Zara, daughter of Princess Anne, paid a heartfelt tribute to his father on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, alongside co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne.
Towards the close of the programme, Payne introduced the sombre news, explaining that in the final few minutes the trio would be “talking dads”. Mike, 47, then said: “Unfortunately, my dad passed away last week.”
Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall(Image: Getty Images)
Phil had previously served as captain of Otley Rugby Club in West Yorkshire, representing the club during the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
The club observed a minute’s silence in Phil’s honour ahead of their fixture against Chester last weekend.
Mike expressed his gratitude to the players and the club, revealing he had been sent footage of the tribute and had also read a tribute to his father printed in the match programme.
He said: “Big shout-out to Otley Rugby Club. They played Chester on the weekend, and they did a minute’s silence to my dad, who was captain in ’72, ’73.”
He added: “That little moment, I got to watch it. Someone recorded it, sent it to me, and then they wrote a little thing in the programme as well, which I read. But thank you very much to Otley Rugby Club for it.”
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Mike also fondly recalled a memory from his father’s earlier years. He disclosed that his father suffered a poorly timed injury just before walking down the aisle with his mother Linda.
He said: “He got married in 69, broke his leg the week before, went down the aisle in a cast. I mean, it sort of all went wrong. He had to retire at 27.”
Phil had battled Parkinson’s for over two decades following his diagnosis in 2003. That was the very same year his son played a pivotal role in helping England claim the Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The heartbreaking condition became a significant cause close to Mike’s heart, having served as a patron of Cure Parkinson’s since 2018, consistently raising both funds and awareness for vital research.