Prince William Has One Royal Who Calls Him Out When He Gets 'Pompous' — And It's Not Kate
One royal's candid honesty keeps Prince William grounded—and it's also rubbed off on Prince George.
Prince William shares a close bond with all of his cousins, but one, in particular, reportedly keeps him grounded and on his toes. According to royal author Robert Jobson, Zara Tindall, who is 13 months younger than the Prince, has inherited her mother Princess Anne's no-nonsense approach and is never afraid to speak her mind. It's perhaps no surprise, then, that Prince George is also said to have developed a special fondness for her and her fun-loving husband, Mike Tindall.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Jobson highlighted William and Zara's unique bond and how free he was around her. He said, "Zara and William are eighteen months apart. Same Scottish summers, same Norfolk Christmases, same wet afternoons when the adults were elsewhere and the cousins were left to it." He added, "So she [Zara] can tell the heir to the throne he is being pompous, and does. He takes it…She did the same for Catherine, who married in from outside the tent and found waiting there a woman who had spent her whole life declining to be impressed by the tent."
Zara's down-to-earth qualities, as Jobson claimed, are the result of Anne's humble parenting, when she refused to give her children royal titles. When William and Princess Kate welcomed George in 2013, they picked Zara and Mike Tindall as his godparents along with seven other friends. Regardless, George is most attached to his royal godmother and godfather. Jobson continued, "Watch Zara with George, and there is no deference in it…He is easy with her the way children are easy with adults who want nothing from them."
Against that context, the royal author stressed that as George prepares to become the future king, his royal godparents will support him through that transition. "Prince George is 13. In the autumn he goes up to Eton…The gaze tightens by degrees until one day he notices it, and it is too late to mind. All of that will make a king. None of it decides what sort. For that, look at the two people in his life who hold no rank at all, Zara and Mike Tindall." He also spoke fondly about his time interviewing Zara at Gatcombe, describing her as "confident, refreshingly normal, and warm."
Royal expert Ingrid Seward has also echoed that Zara was the sister William never had. She told HELLO! that the duo always had terrific fun together and have supported each other through thick and thin. "She [Zara] has the best of both worlds. She understands what royal life is like, but she can live her life as she chooses, without the pressure faced by more senior royals."
