Mike Tindall married Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne, on 30 July 2011 at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, and in a recent interview he opened up about what it was really like to meet the royal family ahead of their wedding.
SEE: Mike Tindall unveils living room at Gloucestershire home with Zara
WATCH: Zara and Mike Phillips tie the knot
"We'd go on a Friday night to watch the match and stop over at Zara's," he told the Sunday Times Magazine. "Sometimes we'd all go out for lunch with Zara's mum on Sunday before we went home. We spent quite a bit of time with her dad too. Prince Harry would often be round watching the rugby, so, slowly and quietly, we got to meet them all – and that's how it went on for quite a few years."
MORE: How Mike and Zara Tindall's wedding wasn't supported by all family members
Mike and Zara Tindall married in 2011
So far, so normal. But apparently it was Mike's non-royal family who had their qualms. Mike's father Phillip said that Mike's grandmother was "dead against" the nuptials since she was only used to royals marrying royals. He explained, "Linda's mum was dead against it. In her day, royalty married royalty and she thought the wedding would be shunned."
Nonetheless, the two sets of parents met one another soon into Mike and Zara's relationship, and Mike says that all went smoothly. "Mum and Dad met Princess Anne early on," he added. "And it was incredibly relaxed. Zara was living in a little two-bed flat in Nailsworth, so it wasn't exactly grandiose."
The wedding was also plain-sailing, and the two families enjoyed one another's company with royal guests including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
WATCH: Mike Tindall talks family life with Lorraine Kelly
This month will mark the couple's ninth wedding anniversary, and Mike has revealed how he hopes to celebrate the occasion amid the coronavirus pandemic. "Hopefully, we'll be able to do something," he told Lorraine Kelly in an interview. "We'll have to wait and see what we can do and what we're allowed to do. It's quite good with the restaurants opening, we might be able to get a date night in, so that will be nice."
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