Queen wanted Royal Family to 'leave' her after Prince Philip’s funeral for very selfless reason, Mike Tindall reveals

Queen Elizabeth II arrives to greet the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani to her Windsor residence on October 26, 2010 in Windsor, England
(Image credit: Photo by Dan Kitwood - WPA Pool /Getty Images)

The Queen sat alone for Prince Philip's funeral and continued to lead by example afterwards as the Royal Family were told they all needed to "leave", Mike Tindall claims.

The Queen’s granddaughter Zara and her husband Mike Tindall were amongst the 30 guests who attended Prince Philip’s funeral on April 17. Despite her grief at the loss of her husband of 73 years, the Queen sat alone, although not in the front row, of St George’s Chapel for the service.

Due to Covid-19 guidelines, the Royal Family, sometimes called The Firm, were instead spread out around her. Mike Tindall has since praised the Queen for leading by example at the funeral and abiding by Covid-19 guidelines.

Queen Elizabeth II takes her seat during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 17, 2021 in Windsor, England.

Now he has opened up more about this poignant day, claiming that the Royal Family were essentially told “you all need to leave” afterwards, as Her Majesty selflessly continued to set an example.

Speaking on ITV daytime show Good Morning Britain, Mike told hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard: "I think that’s what she does, she leads by example and you say, 'amazing to see', but I didn’t really want to see it, but everyone’s seen it now." 

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"And even after the funeral it was sort of, ‘right, you all need to leave’, so you didn’t even get to have that supportive side afterwards."

But despite their sadness at not being able to support the Queen as they would’ve ordinarily done, Mike discussed how “exceptional” the funeral was. He revealed that it was the small details that some might have missed that made it so emotional.

"I think the way that the funeral was planned and run was exceptional...for Zara it was seeing his carriage ponies and the gloves and the sugar cube box and all that lined up,” he told GMB.

Horse drawn carriage seen in the Quadrangle ahead of during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle on April 17, 2021 in Windsor, England

"If he was looking down I think, being in the middle of a pandemic where it was a bit more low key, I think he probably would have been more happy with that, even though the rest of us probably would have liked it to be more of a celebration, but that’s the man that he was."

Mike and Zara recently welcomed their third child, naming him Lucas, with the middle name Philip, in tribute to his great-grandfather.

The proud father recently shared an adorable update on family life now they’ve welcomed Lucas. 

Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall with their daughters Mia Tindall and Lena Tindall (in her pram) attend day 3 of the Whatley Manor Horse Trials at Gatcombe Park on September 9, 2018 in Stroud, England

Now he's told GMB how delighted he is to have welcomed a son alongside their two daughters Mia and Lena. 

“It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster of emotions in terms of highs and lows but he’s been brilliant to be fair," Mike declared.

"It’s nice to have a boy around to keep me company. The girls are outnumbering me by quite a number so it’s nice to have Lucas around.”

Emma Shacklock
Senior Lifestyle Writer

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, Goodto.com, and My Imperfect Life.