From childhood squabbles to brushing elbows at the king's coronation, Prince William and Zara Tindall have a bond that might be closer to that of siblings than cousins. So could Zara be taking Prince Harry's place in William's life?
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00:00From childhood squabbles to brushing elbows at the king's coronation, Prince William and
00:04Zara Tindall have a bond that might be closer to that of siblings than cousins.
00:08So could Zara be taking Prince Harry's place in William's life?
00:12Though Prince William had a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth II, insiders have claimed
00:17that Her Majesty much preferred Zara Tindall and her brother, Peter Phillips, to the future
00:21king.
00:22Elizabeth's alleged ambivalence towards William's father, King Charles III, in contrast to her
00:26favoritism of Zara's mom, Princess Anne, might have something to do with it.
00:30Royal expert Ingrid Seward told Fabulous Digital,
00:32"...I think the Queen is closest to Zara and Peter as they were her first grandchildren
00:36and have always been the favorites."
00:38This apparent favoritism led to the Queen being mighty protective over Zara, especially
00:43when a cheeky William got out of line.
00:45William and Zara have always been close, as they have an age gap of just one year, but,
00:49like most children, they've also had some squabbles.
00:52Appearing in the documentary The Queen at 90, William recalled a moment during his childhood
00:56in which he incurred the wrath of his grandmother over his treatment of Zara.
01:00He and Peter were chasing Zara around Balmoral while she drove a go-kart, which resulted
01:04in her crashing into a lamppost.
01:06William said,
01:07"...The lamppost came down and nearly squashed her and I remember my grandmother being the
01:11first person out at Balmoral running across the lawn in her kilt.
01:14She came charging over and gave us the most almighty b----.
01:17And that sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on."
01:20When William was just 15, his mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a car crash in Paris
01:24at the age of 36.
01:26"...We have all been trying to help William and Harry come to terms with the devastating
01:31loss that they and the rest of us have suffered."
01:34William has been open about the impact of the loss on his mental health, telling GQ
01:38in 2017 that he felt he couldn't openly grieve for his mother.
01:42But throughout this difficult time, William was supported by Zara.
01:45Immediately after Diana died, Princess Anne traveled to Balmoral and offered her support
01:49to William and his now estranged brother, Prince Harry.
01:52She brought her daughter along and Zara subsequently saw her cousin's grief firsthand.
01:56In the documentary Zara and Anne, Like Mother Like Daughter, it was revealed that for many
02:01years William and Harry were Zara's closest cousins within the royal family.
02:05Accordingly, when Diana died, she grew even closer to the grieving brothers and tried
02:09her best to take their minds off their traumatic loss.
02:12Royal biographer Brian Huey explained,
02:14"...Not long after Diana died, the Prince of Wales decided they should all go on a skiing
02:18holiday.
02:19He tried to sort of cheer them both up and throw snowballs, and they'd have a wrestle
02:22in the snow.
02:23She was a huge help, an enormous help to those two, and William in particular, I think, has
02:28always had a huge affection for Zara."
02:30While some royals have tried their best to cultivate careers away from the firm, Zara
02:34Tindall's career has been nothing short of a success.
02:37An acclaimed equestrian, she has been lauded for her sporting achievements.
02:41Prince William, Princess Catherine, and Princess Anne even appeared on Mike Tindall's podcast,
02:45The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby, in 2023, where William shared a sweet story about his
02:50cousin.
02:51The only time I heard her cry watching sport was when Zara won, I think it was the European
02:54Championship."
02:55The prince was unable to make it to see his cousin's victory in person, as he was camping
02:58in Exmoor at the time, but he still made it a point to watch.
03:01"...We were all hustled around the phone watching it, and she was there, she was blubbing away,
03:05the flag was going up, and I was just like, flies and pieces, and I was so proud."
03:09Zara didn't marry a royal, instead falling for rugby player Mike Tindall.
03:13The couple said their I do's in July 2011, just three months after William and Catherine
03:18got married.
03:19The Tindalls' celebration might not have been the enormous production that William and Catherine's
03:23was, but it was definitely a party.
03:25William reportedly had the time of his life.
03:27According to a source who dished to Us Weekly,
03:29"...the prince eagerly took charge of a karaoke machine to sing Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer
03:34and partied the night away."
03:35The source said,
03:36"...he sang karaoke.
03:37Kate stayed down in front of the stage but clapped and cheered while he sang.
03:41It was amazing.
03:42Pretty much everyone stayed up all night.
03:44I don't even think Zara and Mike went to bed.
03:46They were too busy having fun with their friends."
03:48William has apparently also hit it off with Zara's husband, with sources telling The Telegraph
03:53that the former rugby player has become a surrogate brother to the prince.
03:56Royal commentator Dickie Arbiter explained that William's rapport with Zara had proven
04:00infectious for Mike.
04:02He told the publication,
04:03"...we've seen this time and again in William and Mike's interactions.
04:06They're a proper family.
04:07They're not playing at it."
04:09There's always reportedly been a sprinkling of tension between Princess Anne and King
04:13Charles over the latter not appointing his sister as godmother to either of his kids.
04:17No such bad blood exists between the siblings' respective children, however.
04:21Following the birth of his first child, Prince George, in 2013, William appointed Zara as
04:25the infant's godmother.
04:27In fact, she was the only royal William and Catherine had chosen for the role, with the
04:30couple eschewing tradition by simply looking to their closest friends as godparents.
04:34"...today they're picking seven godparents rather than the six that everyone thought
04:39that would happen."
04:40Zara Tindall is neither a working royal nor a princess, because her mother chose not to
04:45give her a title.
04:46Princess Anne explained to Vanity Fair,
04:47"...I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there
04:51are downsides to having titles.
04:53So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
04:55Zara herself has said that she feels lucky that her mom never gave her a title, as it
04:59enabled her to have a more normal life.
05:01Prince William, however, has allegedly tried to give his cousin a bigger role within the
05:05royal family.
05:06In 2021, a source told New Idea that William was getting desperate as the number of working
05:10royals was diminishing.
05:12At the time, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had relocated to the U.S. after giving up
05:16royal life, while William's uncle, Prince Andrew, had to step down due to his association
05:21with Jeffrey Epstein.
05:22William was apparently trying to convince Zara to take on a royal role to help shoulder
05:26the burden of duty.
05:27The insider told the publication,
05:29"...she's still one of the most beloved members of the royal family in the public's eyes."
05:33Wills thinks Zara could be just the tonic to help solve his staffing problem in the
05:37years to come.
05:38Now he just has to convince her of that.
05:40Zara never did become a working royal, however.
05:42Part of the reason why William favors Zara over his other royal cousins lies in her loyalty.
05:47In Zara and Anne, Like Mother, Like Daughter, royal commenter Victoria Arbiter explained
05:52that Zara understood William's need for loyalty like few others, saying,
05:56For William in particular, trust is everything so when you've got a cousin that understands
05:59what it is to be a member of the royal family, but they don't have the same pressures associated
06:04with it, they can be a tower of strength and support.
06:06It's Zara's loyalty and total dedication to her family that has made her such an asset
06:10to the cousins.
06:11Accordingly, the cousins and their kids are a close-knit unit.
06:15Princess Charlotte illustrated her close bond with cousin Mia when the two appeared at Christmas
06:19service in 2023.
06:20A fan offered Charlotte some flowers, but she sweetly told Mia that she could have them
06:24instead, proving that the pair have inherited their parents' down-to-earth sensibilities.
06:29Since Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior royals, Harry and William have been locked
06:33in a seemingly irreparable feud.
06:35This has been particularly difficult for Zara, as she once enjoyed a super-loving relationship
06:39with Harry as well as William.
06:41In 2021, insiders told The Sun that Zara was stuck in the middle as she tried to play peacemaker
06:45between the brothers.
06:47Speaking to Express, body language expert Judy James argued that by King Charles' coronation,
06:52there appeared to be a notable distance between Zara and Harry.
06:55She told the publication,
06:56"[Zara seemed to make no active effort to display affection for Harry, like their playful,
07:00loving hugs and whispers of old, but there was a point when they did at least appear
07:04to acknowledge each other."
07:05In 2024, it was reported that Zara was distancing herself further from Harry, suggesting that
07:10she had chosen a side in the feud.
07:12That year, Mike Tindall also appeared to make his allegiance resoundingly clear when he
07:16dismissed claims that he would be taking part in Harry's Invictus Games.
07:20In the wake of outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Catherine's disappearance
07:24in 2024, it was revealed that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
07:28"...it has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family."
07:32The announcement came just several weeks after King Charles' cancer diagnosis.
07:36With both his wife and father being treated for cancer, Prince William needed all the
07:40support he could get.
07:41Thankfully, Zara was on hand to help the prince through yet another difficult period in his
07:45life.
07:46An insider told Us Weekly,
07:47"...Zara is also very close to Charles and has been a huge help to both him and William
07:51during his awful year.
07:53Zara has been a breath of fresh air.
07:55She's loved by the public as she's fun and unpretentious."
07:57Appearing at Royal Ascot three months after Catherine went public with her diagnosis,
08:02Zara was seen offering support to her cousin, asking him if he was okay.
08:05In a sweet gesture, Zara was also seen linking arms with William as the pair chatted during
08:09the sporting event, perhaps taking his mind off his personal struggles.
08:13With his relationship with Prince Harry in pieces, Prince William has sometimes come
08:17across as a lonely figure as he fulfills his royal duties without his brother by his side.
08:22Speaking to Fox News, royal author Christopher Anderson claimed that Princess Catherine was
08:26holding out hope that her husband would reconcile with his brother, saying,
08:29"...of course, Kate would like nothing better than to have the brothers kiss and make up.
08:33It would be one less cloud hanging over the royal family's head.
08:36But above all else, Kate is loyal to her husband."
08:39But in the absence of his brother, William does have a symbolic sibling in Zara.
08:43A source told Us Weekly,
08:45"...she's kind of like the big sister William never had."
08:47It's a sentiment echoed by royal author Ingrid Seward, who told Hello! that Zara has always
08:52been there to allow William embrace his lighter side, whilst offering the utmost support to
08:56her surrogate brother.
08:57She said in the interview,
08:58"...she is very bright and intuitive about people, and she has the best of both worlds.
09:02She understands what royal life is like, but she can live her life as she chooses, without
09:06the pressure faced by more senior royals."