Mike and Zara Tindall are currently building an extension at their family home on the Gatcombe Park estate, and the plans have been poked fun at by his friends James Haskell and Alex Payne, who he works with on Joe's House of Rugby podcast.
The extension came into conversation when Alex and James teased Mike for missing their last podcast recording to do some work for Royal Ascot instead. Admitting that his wife Zara wears the trousers in the relationship, Mike explained: "If I would have got out of it, my wife would have been very upset with me, so basically the boss reeled me in."
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"Also that new conservatory is not going to pay for itself is it? Let's be honest. That new AstroTurf garden," James jokingly said, making reference to the new extension that the family are building at their Gatcombe Park home.
Alex added: "Conservatory? East Wing going on the East Wing I think it is isn’t it? Building out in sort of like a Lego set."
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Zara and Mike submitted plans to build the conservatory as part of a two-storey extension to their home in 2018, and they were approved shortly after the birth of their second daughter Lena that June.
© Photo: Getty ImagesZara and Mike Tindall live on the Gatcombe Park estate with their daughters
Documents lodged with Stroud District Council showed how the couple planned to install a new kitchen and bathroom at the lodge, and to replace the existing lean-to conservatory with a new and improved version. The extension means that their floor space will increase from 115.5m sq to 135.5m sq, with a "greater area of work surface" in their new open-plan kitchen and dining room, and a new ground floor toilet and utility area.
As part of the renovations the couple are also converting a smaller bedroom into an en-suite for their master bedroom, and are having an additional bedroom installed above the ground floor extension.
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Zara moved to Gatcombe Park with Mike in 2013, and they welcomed their daughter Mia the following year. Her mum, Princess Anne, has lived on the estate since 1977, after receiving it as a wedding gift from the Queen when she married Captain Mark Phillips. Zara's older brother Peter Phillips and his family also live on the estate, and reports suggest that both he and his estranged wife Autumn will continue to do so following their split so they can both remain close to their two daughters, Isla and Savannah.
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