Mike Tindall: The royal family are ‘very welcoming’

Mike Tindall felt “very comfortable very quickly” when he first became a part of the royal family.
The retired rugby player – who married Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips in 2011 – says the royals have always been very “welcoming” to him.
He said: “They welcome you into the family and make you feel very comfortable very quickly. They’re an amazing family – it’s just great to sort of be in there, they’re so welcoming.”
And the 37-year-old sportsman is glad their two-year-old daughter Mia is able to spend lots of time with her cousins, Isla, four, and five-year-old Savannah.
He added to OK! magazine: “Yes it is fun, it’s great with Pete [Phillips, Zara’s brother] and his wife Autumn having their two and not living too far away from us – it’s good that Mia can play with her cousins. I think it’s going to be nice when they’re all a little bit older and can look after each other.”
Meanwhile, Mike previously revealed he doesn’t want his daughter to follow the usual path for a royal child to go to boarding school as he wants her to stay close to home.
He said: “I know many people who say boarding was the making of them because they forged great independence from their parents, but I don’t really want her to be distanced from us.
“My school was a public one and plenty of my mates lived in, but I was just a day student and it definitely didn’t do me any harm. If anything, I enjoyed the best of both worlds. Personally, I’d rather she attend a school that’s nearby, where we’ll always be onhand if she needs us. Anything else goes against my instincts.”