King Charles urged to consider Zara for Royal Family role if Tindalls' are 'prepared to make sacrifices'

Members of the Royal Family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, their children, and Mike and Zara Tindall, were spotted the Sandringham church service at Christmas together.

The closeness of the two families have led to some suggestions from commentators that the Tindalls should be brought closer to Royal Family.

Former Downing Street head of press for David Cameron, Giles Kenningham, said: "The big question for Buckingham Palace is always one of relevance and whether the Royal Family are seen as relatable and people feel able to engage with them.

"The Tindalls work very well on that level – they have had their own careers, they are independent financially and they conduct themselves well. You certainly don’t see them staggering out of the back of bars.

“This really comes down to the future of the Royal Family. There are objectively very few [royals] who are relatable and lead normal lives in the sort of way that the Tindalls do.

"But at the same time, they have been very good at leading private lives away from most of the sort of scrutiny that comes with doing the royal job. The question is would they be willing or able to make that sort of sacrifice?"

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The late Queen Elizabeth is said to have been fond of Mike, the Yorkshire-born, Rugby World Cup winning son of a bank manager and a social worker, for his robust humour and ease in royal company.

Princess Anne, often known as the hardest working royal in terms of annual public engagements, made it clear that she did not want either Zara or her brother Peter Phillips, to receive a royal title, in a move to encourage them to live their own lives.

Zara once said: "I was lucky my mother didn’t give us any titles, so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do things a bit our way."

The Tindalls have become closer to Prince William and Princess Catherine, with some suggesting the bond has become stronger since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to California.

One former adviser added: “Mike and Zara Tindall are rarities in the sense that they’re the sort of royalty that people think they could have a pint and a laugh with in the pub, or a quick chat in the supermarket about the best pizza.

"You can see from the Palace’s point of view, it would make perfect sense to have them in a more engaged role. They would be PR gold dust."