Mike and Zara Tindall live with their two young daughters in Gloucestershire, and more often than not keep their private life out of the public eye. But on Tuesday, the former rugby star revealed that he was going on a lads' trip away to Tokyo, Japan, while Zara and their girls Mia, five, and Lena, one, are thought to be staying at home. On his newly-opened Instagram account, Mike shared a photo of himself standing in front of a sign showing his flight details, and wrote: "Here we go! Very excited to be heading to Japan with @jameshask @alexpaynetv @rugbyjoe and @isps_handa we are going to have some laughs no doubt!!!"
Mike Tindall has gone away for work while Zara and the children stay at home
The doting dad is going out to Japan with his TV show House of Rugby. Last week, he shared a photo of himself and his co-stars presenting in Flat Iron Square, and wrote: "Awesome second live show! Next stop Tokyo! It's gonna be fun!" Fans are enjoying seeing Mike's Instagram posts since he opened his account at the end of September. Mike has made a conscious effort to keep his relationship with his wife's family out of the spotlight and so doesn't follow any members of the royal family, despite having a close bond with them. Instead, he follows sports stars and his celebrity friends, as well as TV personalities such as Ant and Dec.
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Mike and Zara are parents to daughters Mia and Lena
While Mike doesn't follow his royal relatives on social media, he is in regular contact with them on Whatsapp. In May, he revealed that he had found out that baby Archie had been born after Harry shared the news on their cousins' Whatsapp group. Mike was welcomed warmly into the royal family after he began dating Zara, and has a close relationship with them all. In March, Mike and Zara appeared on House of Rugby to chat about their fantasy royal rugby team, with the couple both admitting they would choose the Queen as their captain.
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Former England captain Mike revealed he would also include his cousins-in-laws William, Harry and Kate, saying: "Haz, front line man in the military, he'll crash that ball up for us, he'll dominate, he'll boss the tackle line." "Willy is quick, I've raced him, he's quick, he has really fast leg speed," Mike said of the Duke of Cambridge, adding that he would put Kate in the left wing because "she loves running, she'll run all day."
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