The other British royal wedding of 2011 took place recently when Zara Phillips (30) married former England rugby captain Mike Tindall (32) in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It was a far more low-key affair than the nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton. “What it was was a very merry knees-up,” one guest said.
Zara, an accomplished equestrian, and Mike, who plays outside centre for Gloucester when he isn’t heeding a call-up from his country, were surrounded by 400 close friends and family on their special day.
The wedding is estimated to have cost £500 000 (R5,5 million) – nothing remotely like William and Kate’s £20 million (R220 million) affair in April.
Zara and Mike chose to get married in Canongate Kirk, a 17th-century stone church in Edinburgh, Scotland. Crowds gathered outside the pretty church to cheer on the bride as she arrived – and in her typical down-to-earth fashion Zara slammed the car door herself before taking the arm of her father, Captain Mark Phillips.
Mike and Zara have been together since Prince Harry introduced them during the 2003 Rugby World Cup. “She’s really good for him,” Zara’s friend, Kirsty Gallacher, told the Sunday Mirror. “She’s really into sport and he loves the life they lead with horses and dogs.”
Read more about Zara’s dress and the reception in YOU 11 August 2011.
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