Mike Tindall attended the official funeral for the Queen today in the heart of London together with more than 2,000 other royals, presidents, and other leaders. His OBE medal was on display.
The former England rugby player, 43, was invited to the Westminster Abbey ceremony as one of the “little royals” after marrying Zara Phillips, the late monarch’s granddaughter, in 2011.
They were seated in the first row, only a few steps from the body of Her Majesty, and he consoled his wife. He wore a dark ensemble of a tie, pinstriped slacks, and a black jacket.
The 2003 World Cup victory for England against Australia earned the rugby hero three military-style medals for his service.
The first medal, which is shaped like a cross from left to right, is his Member of the British Empire (MBE), which he was awarded in 2007 for his achievements to rugby.
The principal award is the Diamond Jubilee Medal, which was created in 2012 to mark 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
The Queen’s face and the jubilee year are depicted on the silver piece.
Everyone in the Royal Family, military members with at least five years of service, first responders, owners of the Victoria and George crosses, and operational prison staff all got one.
He received his third medal during this year’s Platinum Jubilee, which celebrated the Queen’s 70-year reign and made her the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
The Worcesteshire Medal Service produced around 400,000 of these, which were given to the same demographics as the previous Jubilee medal.
The Queen’s first-born granddaughter Zara arrived at Westminster Abbey in all-black attire.
The Olympian, who won a silver medal in team equestrian eventing at the London 2012 Olympics, seemed somber in a black fascinator and dress coat.
Lucas, one, Mia, eight, and Lena, four, didn’t seem to be with Zara and Mike.
She was laid to rest in Westminster Hall on Friday, and Lena and Mia were there. They were in the gallery with their parents, Zara and Mike, as their grandmother and her three brothers took their seats for a sad vigil close to the Queen’s casket.
On Saturday, Princess Anne’s grandchildren, together with their brother Peter Phillips, cousins Prince Harry and Prince William, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn, kept vigil over their grandmother’s coffin.
The 15-minute funeral went by without a hitch, as the cousins easily moved around the coffin and left in line.
But Zara was seen briefly halting and staring at the floor as they mounted the steps to leave Westminster Hall.
Her brother, Peter Phillips, who was at her side, gave her a moment to gather herself before continuing.
The funeral procession was headed by their uncle King Charles III, and also included Peter, Zara’s brother, and Earl Snowdon, the late Queen’s nephew. Their mother Princess Anne marched in the procession with her husband Sir Timothy Laurence.
Zara hasn’t spoken out in public since her grandma passed away, but Mike has shared several tributes to her on his public Instagram page.
The former England rugby player sent an emotional message from his mother-in-law Princess Anne over the Queen’s death along with a love emoji.
The Princess Royal, the late monarch’s only child, said that she was “fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my beloved mother’s life” in a statement posted on the Royal Family’s Instagram.
The Queen said the love and respect she received while traveling from Balmoral to Edinburgh and subsequently to London had been “both humbling and energizing.”
It was created after Mike had published another tribute that included a drawing of a corgi crying into a crown. Along with that, he shared a picture of the Sydney Opera House with the Queen’s image lit up. It’s heartwarming that he met Zara in Sydney in 2003.
Prior to this, Mike said that he thought the queen was “unbelievable” and that people believed she was “invincible.”
His wife Zara was spotted traveling to Balmoral with her mother Anne to witness the floral tributes after the Queen passed away at the castle on Thursday. Unknown is if Mike traveled to the estate with the family.
In May, he said, “I think the Queen is a beautiful lady.”
I think she might appear unstoppable at times, but you have to remember she is 96 years old.
“I can’t wait to celebrate how much she has done in her life. She is amazing.”
In the same month, she celebrated her 70th year on the throne, and he paid her tribute.
He posted an image of the Queen from each decade of her reign, from 1952 to 2022, with the caption “What a lady.”
King Charles III and his grieving family surrounded the Queen’s coffin at her ceremonial burial in Westminster Abbey today, giving a dignified and heartfelt farewell to the late monarch. A two-minute national moment of silence and the playing of the Last Post were held in response to the extraordinary incident.
Her Majesty made her last and most mournful walk from Westminster Hall as the country of Britain mourned the death of its longest-reigning monarch and the royal family bade goodbye to a beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
Her casket was placed next to the altar, and her sceptre, orb, and crown were placed on top of it. The King chose the flowers for the area surrounding it from the gardens she admired. The Archbishop of Canterbury gave a statement during the Queen’s royal funeral in which he thanked the queen for her “rich life and loving service” and said that “she was happy, present to so many, touching a multitude of lives.”