Prince William and cousin Zara Tindall have always been close.
“She’s kind of like the big sister William never had,” a source exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly.
Zara, 43, is the daughter of Princess Anne and ex-husband Captain Mark Phillips, who also share son Peter Phillips, 46. Anne, 73, is the younger sister of King Charles III, who is the father of sons William, 42, and Prince Harry. (Anne welcomed her two children before Charles, 75, and his late ex-wife, Princess Diana, became parents themselves.)
Through the years, William and Harry, 39, grew up side-by-side with Zara and Peter. In 2024, William has depended on Zara even more as Charles and the Prince of Wales’ wife, Princess Kate Middleton, battle respective undisclosed forms of cancer and canceled all public engagements to recuperate. (As of July, both Charles and Kate, 42, are slowly resuming their commitments.)
“[Zara is] also very close to Charles and has been a huge help to both him and William during his awful year,” the insider says, noting Zara has been helping her cousin carry out official engagements this spring and summer. “Zara has been a breath of fresh air. She’s loved by the public as she’s fun and unpretentious.”
Zara does not have a royal title despite being the grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II; Anne declined to give her and Peter “HRH” honorifics in favor of normal life. Zara went on to become a professional equestrian, even competing in the 2012 London Olympics. William and many other royals stepped out at the Games to cheer on her event.
Zara’s husband, retired rugby star Mike Tindall, also has a special bond with William.
“The Prince of Wales is known to me as ‘One Pint Willy’ because he’s not the best of drinkers,” Mike, 45, teased during a December 2023 episode of the BBC’s “Total Sports” podcast. “[I am] coming from a sport where it is built on the social aspect and a couple of beers being sunk quite often. That is one I will definitely give away for the Prince of Wales. ‘One Pint Willy.’ It’s out there now. Sorry, sir!”
One year earlier, Mike got William’s approval to join the cast of U.K. reality TV series I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.
“You don’t want to upset anyone. I spoke to the Prince of Wales about it and he said ‘Great, go have fun,’” Mike said during a December 2022 episode of I’m a Celebrity, noting that he wanted to be careful to keep “conversations [about the royals] short.”
Zara and Mike’s three children — Mia, 10, Lena, 5, and Lucas, 2 — are also close to William and Kate’s kids: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. The Tindalls recently joined William, George and Charlotte at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert at London’s Wembley Stadium last month.
Watch the video above and read more in this week’s relaunch issue of the brand-new Us Weekly, featuring 12 additional pages, a redesigned look and new franchises you’ll love — on newsstands now.
