Zara Tindall says the royal family is ‘going through the same struggles’ as regular people as she references royal rift with King Charles and Prince Harry, and first drunk date with Mike Tindall

The King’s niece says the royal family experiences the “same struggles” as everyone else does.

Zara Tindall made the frank comments during a talk on stage in London that was praised by organisers as being “funny, revealing, honest”.

Her appearance came just days after the royal family united on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the 80th anniversary of VE Day, as Prince Harry spoke about his desire to reconcile with King Charles.

READ MORE: Kate speaks of ‘hope and new beginnings’ in powerful video

Zara, who is the daughter of Princess Anne, was the guest speaker at a lunch hosted by The Sporting Club and held at Quaglino’s restaurant in Mayfair.

She was there in her capacity as an established equestrian, having notably won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics in team eventing. Zara also won a gold medal in the 2006 eventing world championships in Germany.

But her talk wasn’t just focused on her sporting achievements.

READ MORE: ‘With one move, it’s clear Prince George is the future of the monarchy’

Zara appeared to reference the royal family’s recent problems, mainly the rift that has widened between the King, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex.

She told the audience: “It is very hard to see from the outside. But, 100 per cent, it is a family that is still going through the same struggles other people do.

“Whether they are relationships, obviously it is very easy to see every day. We’re still very supportive of each other.”

READ MORE: A detailed look inside Harry and Meghan’s Californian mansion

Prince Harry recently reignited the long-running feud when he told sat down with the BBC after losing a court battle in which he had sought to overturn a downgrading of his security while in the UK.

Over 30 minutes, the duke took aim at the royal family, courtiers and the government for the decision while also telling the world it “would be nice to reconcile” with his family.

Most damaging, Prince Harry said he doesn’t “know how much longer my father has”, in reference to the monarch’s cancer battle, adding “he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff”.

Days later, the King and Queen Camilla were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for VE Day commemorations. They were accompanied by Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent.

Zara and her husband Mike were not at the gathering, nor did they attend other events connected with the wartime anniversary. They are not working royals and usually attend family-focused gatherings only.

She also spoke about her grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II who died in September 2022 following a record-breaking 70-year reign.

“We had a very incredible person to look up to who is sadly not here any more,” Zara said.

“She was amazing and an inspiration to all of us.”

Zara also revealed her cheeky response to now-husband Mike, on one of their first encounters soon after meeting.

They first met in Manly while both in Australia during the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

Zara Tindall’s life in pictures, from birth to the Olympics

They were introduced by Prince Harry, who was also in Sydney at the time.

Speaking about one of their first dates, Zara said Mike had asked her for a kiss.

Recalling that conversation, she told the crowd: “I said [to Mike], ‘If you get naked, I will give you a kiss’.

“So he got naked, I gave him a kiss and then . . . anyway.

“He was so drunk and he passed out and I had to leave him there.

“One of my mates had to come and pick him up. I can’t move a 20-stone rugby player when he has passed out.”

The couple has previously spoken about their relationship. In the first episode of Mike’s podcast Mike Drop, which was recorded in Australia in 2023, Zara said: “I found my husband here… best day of my life.

“It was a fun day actually, I had a boozy lunch with the girls and then I met you.”

Zara and Mike have three children: Mia, 11, Lena, six, and four-year-old Lucas.

They live at Aston Farm, a renovated seven-bedroom farmhouse next to Princess Anne’s 283-hectare Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire in the English Cotswolds.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.