The cheeky move by Mike Tindall that left Princess Anne less than impressed

While most people might go out of their way to avoid ruffling the feathers of their mother-in-law, Mike Tindall eagerly seized the opportunity to “get one over” on his royal mother-in-law, Princess Anne, during his illustrious rugby career.

Tindall recently shared the humorous story about how he managed to draw the ire of Princess Anne during a high-stakes rugby match between Scotland and England.

Known for her unwavering support of the Scottish rugby team, given her role as patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986—Princess Anne was already less than pleased when Tindall’s England squad triumphed over her beloved Scots.

Making matters worse was the fact that Anne had to present the trophy to the winning team, something Tindall couldn’t help but have some fun with.

“Most fellas want to get something over on their mother-in-law. It’s quite niche if you’re the captain of the England team and you play Scotland at Twickenham and, when you win, you’re receiving the trophy from your mother-in-law,” he told Closer magazine.

“I don’t like the majority of the RFU (Rugby Football Union), but I shook every one of their hands and I kept her waiting.”

Princess Anne, never one to suffer fools lightly, didn’t take too kindly to his antics.

“She was like, ‘move on, Michael’. I was like, ‘debrief over lunch tomorrow?’ And she said, ‘move on, Michael’,” he recalled.

In addition to the amusing moment with Princess Anne, Tindall recently opened up about a light-hearted exchange he had with Queen Elizabeth and how his sharp wit and sense of humour helped him win her over.

Tindall recently recalled the moment during an interview with the Daily Mail, sharing how a humorous exchange between the two changed their relationship for the better.

During a royal lunch, Tindall found himself in an awkward position given the placement of two tables.

“I sat next to her [Queen Elizabeth} at lunch one day and I was sat between two table legs. It was really annoyingly close to my groin. She gets up and starts moving them [the tables] closer together,” he recalled.

“I said to her, ‘Ma’am, if you move them any closer, I’m going to be talking way high’. She laughed. My relationship with her changed after that, as I felt I could tell her anything.”