Mike Tindall said he got ‘unnecessary’ heat online for wearing medals to the Queen’s funeral

Mike Tindall admitted he ‘has a hatred’ of wearing medals at formal royal engagements after coming under fire for paying his respects at the Queen’s funeral events.

The ex-rugby ace from England wore his MBE and Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals when he joined his wife Zara Tindall at the Queen’s state funeral earlier this month.

He received criticism online from people who questioned why he was wearing medals when he hadn’t served time in the military.

In the podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, he admitted that he “hates” wearing them, but that he “cannot control them”.

He said: ‘It was an interesting one, we had this discussion about the fact that I don’t like wearing them anyway.

“I think you would be the same because you consider medals a military honour.

“Every soldier, I really appreciate your service and I haven’t served anywhere and haven’t really done anything to get those medals, other than being in the family.

“So the anniversary medals, of course I got married in 2011, so 2012 was her diamond jubilee and you get a medal if you’re part of the family.

“The people who work in her household get a medal, and if you’ve served in the armed forces for five years, and you’re actively in the service, you get one too.

‘So it’s harder for’ [people in the] military personnel to actually get a Jubilee Medal unless they have served for a long time.

“There’s been a lot more because you get a lot more celebrations later in life, so 50, 60, 70, I got one there, and the other was my MBE.”

After his fellow podcast hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne brought up the topic of the online controversy surrounding the medals, Mike said it was “unnecessary” because there is a “strict dress code” and he has “no control over it.”

He said: ‘I have a lot of unnecessary … you don’t have to yell at me on social media, by the way. You can just ask and if you just ask I will probably answer you like one person did.

“I have no control over it, you get a uniform list and it says the dress code is strict, you wear a morning suit unless you’re military.

In an earlier episode, he spoke about how the royal family “came together overnight” after the Queen’s death.

Mike also admitted that he is “full of regret” that he didn’t ask the Queen more questions during his time with her.

Tindall reflected on his relationship with the Queen in a special episode of his podcast after his death.

He said: ‘It was sad, emotional but happy. Great in some ways. To see the family get so close at night.

‘You never predict. A 96-year-old lady, you know it’s going to happen, but you’re never ready when it happens.

“Seeing what Zara had to go through, she clearly loved the Queen more than anything else. Their connection with horses, they really had a bond around that.

“It’s as if the world has somehow lost its grandmother.”

He went on, “I’m also very sorry that I didn’t ask her so many more things… If you’re nervous when you sit there, you get that happy place to sit next to her.

‘Going back in history and all she may have seen; 15 prime ministers, I don’t know how many presidents.

“To endure anything when she meets dictators, she must remain neutral, she must do her duty.”

Later in the podcast, he said the royal family was “blown away” by tributes from members of the public.

“You expect an outpouring of love, but I guess what it was like, the world leaders who came in accepted their invitation without question. He immediately came back and said ‘yes we are coming,’ he said, adding that there was ‘no jostling for positions’ between the hugely important guests.

Speaking about the Queen’s funeral arrangements, which she was consulted about before her death, Mike revealed that he had been told a story (although he could not verify it) about the plane that was to fly Her Majesty of Scotland’s coffin back to London. .

He said the plane originally intended to carry her was too small, and instead officials had suggested a larger plane that had been used to transport the bodies of soldiers back from Afghanistan.

Hearing this, the Queen reportedly wrote a note that read, “If it’s good enough for my boys, it’s good enough for me.”

Mike added, “It kind of sums her up that it was ‘her boys’.”

While other podcast hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne admitted they had shed tears after the Queen’s death, James said he “woke up every morning with… a dull internal pain” that someone had died so remarkably.

He added: “For me she was the best role model and she was the best of us.”

Speaking of the Queen’s state funeral, which was attended by some 2,000 world leaders, foreign royals and citizens, Mike admitted that the family didn’t necessarily realize the magnitude of the televised event – which went on to worldwide estimated 4 billion people were watched – until he turned on the television. highlights later.

He added that it was “positive” to be part of the funeral as so many people lined up in unison to pay their respects to Her Majesty.

Mike also praised the Queen’s power to keep some parts of herself private from the rest of the world – modeled on how Her Majesty sat alone at her beloved Prince Philip’s funeral.

He said: “Because of where the pandemic was at the time, she made the real statement to everyone else – unfortunately our government didn’t look – how it should be.”

The ex-England star appeared to refer to reports that a party was being held at 10 Downing Street the night before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

Although Mike officially became a member of the Royal Family in 2011, when he married Zara, he revealed that he had met the Queen 19 years earlier in 1992 when she came to visit his school, Queen Elizabeth Grammar, on his 400th birthday.

“I think I was in a physics class and she came in … turned on the Bunsen burner,” he said. “Then I have to say goodbye to her.”

As the royal family and nation adjust to the new monarch, King Charles, Mike revealed that old habits are hard to overlook.

“I almost bowed to the king the other day,” he said. “I was just following my wife, I saw her curtsy and luckily not … it was a lower bow.”

He added that he “styled it well” and hopefully got away with it.