Although they are not working royals, the happily-married couple are members of the Royal Family and tend to be spotted at Royal Ascot every year. As well as attending and watching the races, they are also often spotted taking part in the carriage procession. The couple seem to enjoy this massively, and are often beaming as they take part in the procession.
However, Mike said he sometimes experiences a Royal Ascot “nightmare.”
This tends to be when the weather is too hot. Speaking on the Luxury Dispatch podcast with Tom Chamberlin, Mike said: “If it’s too hot, it’s a bit of a nightmare. The sweat!
“Don’t take the hat off – there’s this, like, pool of water drops out.”
He also spoke about the 20-minute procession and the parts he loves. He recalled: “That British history. That is the history that we are trying to continue. The royal procession down the course. It’s still a standalone feature of Royal Ascot.
“When you come into the stadium, and the anthem starts, it’s quite special.”
Mike’s new interview comes after he recently joked that he knew Prince Harry “when he was fun”. Chatting with his friends and podcast co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne about his 2011 wedding to Zara Tindall, the former England rugby pro expressed mock surprise that his former teammate Haskell had not made a fool of himself at the wedding.
“A lot of other people managed that way better than you – [like] Harry, when he was fun,” he joked.
Mike made the comment at the Hay Festival in Powys, where he and his co-hosts made numerous gags about his royal ties.
Payne mentioned that the former England player had strong connections because “he’s got his own bedroom at Buckingham Palace”. Replying, Tindall joked: “Opposite end to Andrew, though.”
Though he added that he had been asked to stay clear of any mention of the former prince, saying: “Backstage, they were like, ‘It’s being recorded, maybe stay away from [the subject of] Andrew tonight?’”