In 2016, the Queen was too ill to attend her annual Christmas Day church service at Sandringham, and during that time, Mike and Zara Tindall had tragically lost their baby. And so while the rest of the royals stepped out, the three of them had their own private service at home. Opening up about how the Queen comforted him and his wife after their loss, Mike Tindall revealed on talk show House of Rugby: "Two years ago, she wasn’t feeling very well and so she didn’t go to church, and we’d obviously been what we’d been through with our pregnancy that we lost, so we did our own little private - just as a three."
Mike Tindall revealed how the Queen comforted him and Zara Tindall after their miscarriage
Mike added that the Queen associated dark colours with "sad times" but that he was wearing a colourful suit on Christmas Day that year, something that he hoped would raise the mood of the sombre occasion. He said: "I was like, ‘maybe I should be wearing something a little different today’ but I was trying to raise the mood." Alex Payne and James Haskell, who were on the panel alongside Mike, asked him if it had worked, to which he replied: "It did." In September, Zara opened up about the heartbreak of her two miscarriages in an emotional interview with BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent. "I think that's the hardest thing in our situation, is that everyone knew," she explained whilst fighting back the tears. "And very much when things like that happen, normally it's just your family and friends, but unfortunately everyone knew about it."
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Zara and Mike arriving to the Sandringham church service on Christmas Day 2018
Speaking about the outpouring support from the public, Zara added: "Actually I had so many letters saying, 'I'm so sorry, we've been through the same thing', which was incredible - and thank you to all those people. But it just showed how often it does happen and I have a very supportive family, Mike's incredible - and it's hard for the guys too." She added: "It's very different for us because we're carrying the child, but for guys I guess it's kind of that helpless feeling, which must be incredibly high and horrible for them. At the end of the day they've still lost a child too."
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Zara and Mike went on to welcome their second daughter, Lena, in June 2018, making their eldest daughter Mia, four, a big sister. Mike revealed to HELLO! that Mia was brilliant with her younger sibling, and had taken her new role very well. She said: "Mia is very happy to be a big sister, she is happy about that. We are lucky that people that have sent Lena a present have also thought about Mia, so she is getting stuff to open as well."
Mike Tindall on fatherhood
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