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5 times Mike Tindall showed he's a doting dad to Mia, Lena and Lucas

The rugby star is married to Princess Anne’s daughter


mike tindall© Photo: Getty Images
Sophie Hamilton
Parenting Editor
November 9, 2022
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He's the former England rugby player royal currently entertaining us all on I'm A Celebrity each night, and off camera, Mike Tindall is a devoted father-of-three with wife Zara.

MORE: Inside I'm A Celeb star Mike Tindall and Zara's touching love story and proposal

Mike, 44, retired from playing professional rugby in 2014 and is often pictured at equestrian events cheering on his eventing champion wife with their kids, Mia, eight, Lena, four, and Lucas, one.

WATCH: Mike and Zara's love story

Mike looks like one of those super fun dads, always larking around with his children, giving them piggyback rides and being supportive to Zara during those tough baby and toddler years.

We’re big Mike fans here at HELLO! and below, we’ve found five times the royal was the ultimate doting dad…

Mike puts his family first

Mike adores his family and often speaks about his home life on the podcast he co-hosts, The Good, The Bad & the Rugby. In June, he revealed the very sweet reason he hadn’t watched the Leicester Tigers' premiership win.

The royal admitted: "I was having a lovely Father's Day with the family so I saw the results, I haven't managed to go back through it all."

MORE: A look back at Mike Tindall's career and why he received an MBE

LOOK: Revealed: Mike Tindall's incredibly close bond with the royal family

tindall family walking together with buggy© Photo: Getty Images

The Tindall family out together

Mike also shared that he would have liked to have celebrated with their interviewees, Leicester's Freddie Burns and Richard Wigglesworth, but joked that family commitments meant he was unable to.

During their conversation, Mike interjected: "If it hadn't been Lena's birthday I'd have been meeting you somewhere!"

He’s a proud dad

Once again speaking on his podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, Mike revealed that his eldest daughter Mia plays rugby for her local team – and he sounds so proud.

mike tindall children bonding moment© Photo: Getty Images

Dad Mike with his daughters Mia and Lena

"It's always hard to get Mia to go, she's like 'I don't like it' and then you get there, and she's off," Mike shared with his co-hosts, Alex Payne and James Haskell.

"Mia scored a couple... it was an eight-all thriller in the first game and then a nine-all thriller in the second," the proud father-of-three continued.

Speaking about his daughter's involvement in tag rugby, Mike later added: "It's funny how much she's changed over the last, sort of, this year, since they've been back, figuring out how to avoid people because before they'd just all be really bunched in. Now they're getting more, where they run across but then they're all stepping back, and people are just falling around."

Mike’s caring side

We love this story! Back in November 2021, the Tindalls were preparing for their son Lucas’ royal christening, which took place at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor.

mike tindall son lucas fair ride© Photo: Getty Images

Mike with his youngest child Lucas

Speaking on his podcast, Mike told his co-hosts: "We had the christening on Sunday, it was lovely. It was a lovely day." Asked by Alex if Lucas had enjoyed "dunking", Mike replied: "He did actually."

He added: "I took him swimming in the morning, I think I readied him for it, he was quite looking forward to it but then the water was coming out..."

Aw, what a wonderful, caring thing to do to prepare Lucas for his baptism ‘dunking’.

He’s a hands-on dad

Mike sounds like an amazing father and we heard all about his hands-on role in May 2021 a month after the family welcomed their third child, Lucas.

"It's been a good, fun, family weekend," he told Alex Payne and James Haskell on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast.

mike tindall carries daughter lena© Photo: Getty Images

Mike carries his middle child Lena

"A great Saturday, because Zara's horses were running so she went off to watch them, took the girls with her and I had the wee man, and literally you feed him, he goes to sleep, I went to the gym, he wakes up, I feed him. I watched rugby whilst I was feeding him, he went back to sleep. It was the best day. Just the house on your own."

"And then we did a role reversal the next day and I had the girls, and it was carnage. Making, baking, taking Mia to rugby on Sunday.

"She's into it, she says she is not into it. 'I don't want to go, I never want to go,' and when she gets there, she always has fun so…it was a good family weekend."

Mike helped deliver his son!

Mike and Zara welcomed little Lucas in quite a dramatic fashion in March 2021 – and dad played such an important role.

zara mike tindall© Photo: Getty Images

Mike and Zara Tindall

The royal father announced the news on his podcast, revealing that his son was born on the bathroom floor.

"Sunday got even better because a little baby boy arrived at my house," Mike said. "Arrived very quickly. Didn't make it to hospital. On the bathroom floor. So yeah, it was running to the gym, get a mat, get into the bathroom, get the mat on the floor, towels down, brace, brace, brace."

He added: "Fortunately the midwife who was going to meet us at the hospital wasn't that far away so she drove up just as we had assumed the posit (position) and the second midwife arrived just after the head had arrived.”

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