Fashion-forward Zara, who has topped Tatler’s best-dressed list in the past, donned a blue blouse from L’Agence with a Veronica Beard dickey blazer in navy pinstripe, which she paired with a matching set of trousers and an Apspinal of London bag. Mike, meanwhile, looked dapper in a navy blazer and chinos.
The Tindall family have been putting on a brave face since the sad passing of Mike’s father, Philip, who died at the age of 80. Former England rugby player Mike announced the news on 23 September, telling listeners: ‘Unfortunately, my dad passed away last week.’
The former English rugby player went on to thank his father’s former rugby club, which paid him a moving tribute over the weekend. ‘Big shout-out to Otley Rugby Club,’ Mike said. ‘They played Chester on the weekend, and they did a minute’s silence for my dad, who was captain in ‘72-’73. 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.’
Phil Tindall, a keen rugby player like his son, has remained out of the royal spotlight, but was pictured alongside Princess Anne at the wedding of Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips in 2011
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Philip and his wife Linda – described by Mike as a ‘very stoic, northern lady’ – have remained out of the royal spotlight, but have no doubt been doting grandparents for Mike and Zara’s children: Mia, Lena, and Lucas. Philip Tindall was spotted side-by-side with Princess Anne when Mike and Zara tied the knot in 2011.
The announcement comes four months after Mike opened up about his father’s ‘brutal’ health condition at the Celebrity Golf Classic in the West Midlands. ‘My dad is not doing great at the moment,’ Tindall told Hello! Magazine. ‘Parkinson’s is brutal, and there is no let-up from how it attacks the body and changes people.’