Mike Tindall has opened up about life in sport and royal circles during a candid interview in Australia.
The former Gloucester centre sat down for a relaxed interview, offering rare insight into life inside The Firm.
"As a family, they’re very sport-loving," Mike said of the royals.
"With Princess Anne being the patron of Scottish rugby now as well and the Prince and Princess of Wales being England patrons and Wales respectively, I was very fortunate that they knew a lot about rugby and had that sports side to it."
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|Mike Tindall says Kate, William and Princess Anne were 'so good and open' when he married Zara
"So you cruised into it then?" presenter Wayne "Radar" Riley teased during the interview on Sky Sports Golf’s A Round with Radar.
"I wouldn’t say I cruised into it…" Mike replied. "It’s a journey you never plan for, but they were just so good and so open."
Mike, who married Princess Anne’s daughter Zara in 2011, has always found common ground with his wife through their mutual love of sport.
Zara, following in her mother’s Olympic footsteps, became a champion equestrian in her own right.
INSTAGRAM / MIKE TINDALL | Zara and Mike Tindall enjoyed their first visit to Hamilton Island
She was crowned Eventing World Champion in 2006 and won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics, as well as BBC Sports Personality of the Year, 35 years after her mother, Princess Anne.
When asked what it’s like being married to a fellow athlete, Mike said: "I think it’s sort of something that has worked for us. Especially me being in a team sport and her being predominantly in an individual sport, but has an element of a team when you get to the Olympics or a World Championships."
Mike’s rugby career saw him earn 75 caps for England, including a key role in the 2003 World Cup-winning squad. He made over 100 appearances for Bath and 181 for Gloucester.
Though injury ruled him out of a British and Irish Lions tour, he did appear for the Barbarians in a warm-up match against the Lions in Hong Kong in 2013.
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| Princess Kate is the patron of the England Rugby team"It helps us understand each other. You can recognise what framework we’re in and understand people’s routines and how to be supportive of each other at the right times," he explained.
"It’s worked really well for us, just that understanding of each other and being able to plug gaps where some people might not understand what it’s like to play professional sport.
"It has benefitted us to help us relax when things aren’t going so well."
Now approaching their 14th wedding anniversary, the Tindalls have been spending time in Australia, where their relationship first began. Mike recently shared photos from a family break on Hamilton Island.
PA | Princess Anne greets the Scottish rugby team in Edinburgh"We had the chance to spend a few days on Hamilton Island this week – despite all the times we have been to Australia we have never been here before and it’s been amazing," he captioned his Instagram post.
"It’s our first time being out on the water in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park too and it really was unreal, Queensland definitely has it all.
"Made some incredible memories. What an unforgettable way to spend some down time."
Australia holds special meaning for the couple. They met in Sydney in 2003 when Mike was "drowning his sorrows" after being cut from England’s World Cup squad, while Zara was on a gap year with friends.