Amid continued reports of rifts within the British royal family, Zara Tindall has broken her silence.
In a rare media interview this week, Zara — a mother of three, daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, and King Charles III’s oldest niece — made subtle references to the family’s strained feelings toward Prince Harry.
The Duke of Sussex, now 40, has remained largely distant from the Royal Family ever since he and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties in 2020. The couple then moved to the United States to start a new life they described as “private.”
Since then, the pair — who married in 2018 — have leveled several serious claims against the monarchy, including through major interviews, a Netflix series, and Harry’s tell-all memoir.
The article outlines claims of Meghan being mistreated by Prince William and Kate Middleton, who were reportedly opposed to her from the beginning of her relationship with Harry.
It also includes serious accusations against Queen Camilla, suggesting she leaked stories to the press. Additionally, there’s mention of a senior royal allegedly expressing concern about Prince Archie’s skin tone before he was born.
Since then, Prince Harry has only returned to the UK on a few occasions — one of them being a brief visit for King Charles’ coronation.
While most members of the royal family have stayed silent on the topic of any internal rifts, Zara Tindall has recently offered rare insight into their current relationship with Harry.
Speaking at a London Sporting Club lunch, the 43-year-old hinted at ongoing challenges within the royal family.
As reported by The Sun, Zara said: “It is very hard to see from the outside, but 100 percent, it is a family that is still going through the same struggles other people do.”
Although Zara and Mike Tindall were once close to Prince Harry, Sky News Australia recently reported that the couple distanced themselves from him after he allegedly “betrayed” King Charles with his criticisms of the royal family.
Still, it’s unclear whether the cousins are truly estranged behind closed doors.
Speaking at a recent event, Olympic silver medallist Zara highlighted that her family still shares a strong bond, regardless of what the tabloids claim.
“Whether they are relationships, obviously, it is very easy to see every day,” she said.
“We’re still very supportive of each other.”
Zara also reflected on how the late Queen Elizabeth II’s passing has affected the royal family. The Queen was known to be especially fond of both Zara and Harry.
Calling her grandmother an “inspiration to all,” Zara added: “We had a very incredible person to look up to who is sadly not here anymore.”
“She was incredible — a true inspiration to all of us.”
Elsewhere in her speech, Zara opened up about how she and her husband, a professional athlete, first got together. She shared a funny memory from a wild night out in 2003, saying it all started when she dared him to strip naked.
The couple had been invited to what she described as a “lunch or dinner” event. During that outing, Mike reportedly leaned in and asked for a kiss.
“I told him, ‘If you get naked, I’ll give you a kiss,’” Zara recalled this week. “So he stripped, I kissed him and then… well, you can imagine the rest.”
“He was completely drunk and ended up passing out — I had to leave him there.”
She added with a laugh, “One of my friends had to come collect him. I mean, I wasn’t about to drag a 20-stone rugby player on my own.”
Zara’s remarks came just a few days after Prince Harry made headlines with a BBC interview, where he shared his hope for family peace.
“I’d really like to reconcile with my family,” said the father of three, shortly after he and Meghan were denied taxpayer-funded security.
He went on to say that although there have been “so many disagreements” over the years, he now believes “there’s no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious.”
Harry added, “I don’t know how much longer my father has,” referencing King Charles’ ongoing cancer struggle.
“You know, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to — it would be nice to reconcile,” he said.