Zara and Mike Tindall face pressure to play bigger role amid changing Royal Family dynamics

India Hicks, the daughter of former lady-in-waiting Lady Pamela Hicks, confirmed the King's intentions in an interview with Marie Claire.

She said: “[My mother] thinks that [the monarchy] is modernising in a way that it should, and she absolutely believes in the thinning down of the Royal Family and making it this core hardworking foursome,” referring to King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

This is despite the fact that family members like Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh continue to perform a lot of engagements on the calendar.

In response to a question concerning the possibility of a reduced monarchy, former royal butler Paul Burrell advises not to rule out Princess Anne's 43-year-old daughter Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall, who turned 46 today, for helping out with royal responsibilities.

He said: "[Mike] seems to be a very grounded, down-to-earth guy, somebody who lives in the real world.

"Mike brings his realness to that equation and he's a great asset to Zara and his family.

"They're very happy. They just call it as it is, and I think that's the way forward."

Burrell added: "Mike Tindall has done incredibly well to step over that line into a royal world and yet keep one foot in the real world.

"He must have a very balanced mind to cope with both entities."

Despite Charles's vision for a more slimmed-down monarchy, it would help if the younger royals took on more duties amid Princess Kate and the King's health battles.

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In addition, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently living in California, and Prince Andrew stepped down as a working royal in 2019.

Described as a breath of fresh air in the Royal Family, Burrell believes the public will see more of Zara because Charles is very fond of his niece.

He goes on to say that Mike is an ordinary man who has coped with marrying into that institution, and that is not an easy thing to do.

The rugby player previously spoke about how "easy" it was to marry into the Royal Family, writing in his new book: "Believe it or not, marrying into the Royal Family was pretty easy for me. They were always nice to me, and I was always nice to them. Simple really."