Queen Elizabeth II Celebrated Granddaughter Zara Tindall’s Olympic Win By 'Dancing Around In Circles'

Sep 18, 2022

It's true what they say about parents being every child's biggest fans. But grandparents can sometimes be the best cheerleaders, too. Such is the case for Queen Elizabeth II, who apparently had the best reaction when she discovered her granddaughter Zara Tindall had won a medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. 

But who is Zara Tindall?

Tindall is Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter. She is the daughter of Captain Mark Philips and Anne, Princess Royal.

In July 2021, she celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with former rugby player Mike Tindall.

According to Brides, Zara and Mike first met in a bar in Australia back in 2003 while watching the Rugby World Cup, which is fitting given Mike's former career as a player for Bath and Gloucester. 

At that time, Zara was enjoying life in Australia while taking a gap year, and Mike happened to be in the bar since his coach had dropped him from the semi-final match. And so Mike, by a stroke of luck, was in the same bar at the same time as Zara. Luckily, Zara made sure to leave her number with one of Mike's friends, who later delivered the number to the rugby player.

Around five months later, Mike and Zara were official, and the athlete even met Zara's parents — Mark Philips and Anne, Princess Royal. Fast forward about four years, and Mike and Zara had moved in together to a place in Cheltenham. That seems to have been the right decision because the couple quickly got engaged in 2010 after more than five years of dating.

While their 2011 wedding was private, it was still a festive affair at Canongate Kirk on Edinburgh's Royal Mile in Scotland, thanks to a 400-person guest list. Another set of more recent developments for Zara and Mike is the births of their children: Mia Grace Tindall in 2014, Lena Elizabeth in 2018, and Lucas Philip Tindall in 2021. With an Olympian as a mom and a rugby player as a dad, it's safe to say that these kids will have some athletic genes!

In November 2021, a joint christening of Mike and Zara's eight-month-old son, Lucas, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's 9-month-old son, August. Mike opened up about the experience on "The Good, The Bad and the Rugby" podcast in the same month. 

"It was a lovely day," Mike said of Lucas' christening on Wednesday's podcast episode.

"I took him swimming in the morning, so I think I readied him for (the christening)," Mike added. "He was quite looking forward to it when the water was coming out."

Though the queen had been dealing with health issues at that time, she made sure to be there for the rare event of a royal double christening. Princess Eugenie and Zara hosted the joint baptism of their sons at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, according to BBC News.

While Zara's children see her as the best mom they could ever have, perhaps Zara was best remembered by her late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II as the best equestrian. In fact, the queen was probably her biggest cheerleader. 

Her Majesty's former royal protection officer Richard Griffin, in an interview with Sky News, recalled the exact moment the queen had shown how proud she was of her granddaughter. While the queen was a fan of horse riding, she chose not to watch her granddaughter compete in the 2012 Olympic Games. 

"I remember once when I was up at Balmoral with her [the Queen] and Zara was competing in the Olympic Games and looked like she was going to win a medal," Griffin shared. 

"And I thought I would be flying down to Greenwich to watch her get on, but the queen said to me 'I'm just so nervous, I can't face up to it. Let's just go out for a picnic,'" he added. 

Instead, the queen went out for a picnic with Griffin to a secluded place to divert her attention somewhere else. "So we drove up to one of the mountainsides, one of the cabins and we had a little private picnic just the two of us." 

But then again, the queen could not help but keep tabs on her Tindall at that time. So, Her Majesty asked Griffin to check how her granddaughter performed during the competition. 

In what could probably be the best reaction the queen could have made that day, Queen Elizabeth II danced in joy when she discovered her granddaughter Zara Tindall had won a medal. 

"So I radioed them, found out she's won the silver medal and I remember the Queen just grabbed me and we were dancing around in circles on this hill in Scotland," Griffin said. 

Recalling how that exact moment will always be one for the books, Griffin:

"That's a memory that will stay with me forevermore."

How do you feel about Queen Elizabeth fangirling over her granddaughter Zara Tindall? Let us know your thoughts and pass this on to your grandparent!