Mike Tindall celebrates his 47th birthday today and the England rugby icon has many reasons to be cheery after hanging up his boots. The former Bath and Gloucester centre is married to Royal Family member Zara - although he has previously admitted it is "not that easy" as the couple struggled following his retirement from rugby.

Tindall married Princess Anne's daughter in 2011 after announcing their engagement a year prior, while he was still playing rugby at both club and country levels. However, after the ex-Gloucester star retired from the sport in 2014, he admitted he struggled with giving up his everyday job and it impacted his marriage to the Royal. During an appearance on the 2023 edition of Grand Slammers, the 46-year-old opened up about his relationship with Zara and how it was affected by his retirement.

Mike said: "Everyone thinks that just by marrying Zara that means it's all fine and dandy... But that doesn't stop the fact that you need a job.

"And it's not that easy, you know - you get quite institutionalised into rugby, it's a way of life and you leave the game and that's not there. I don't think you can ever sort of describe when you're so used to being around that many people, and understanding, because of it being ingrained in you, where you fit in to then not being that person.

"Zara would say if she was honest it was probably a year it took me to figure out what I was, who I was going to be."

He added: "You've got to then go carve where the next path is - you can never replace going to work with 35 of your best friends every day."

The couple has now been together for 15 years - married for 14 - and are often seen looking loved up at various Royal obligations and horse racing events. During an appearance on I'm a Celebrity in 2022, Mike admitted that the pair actually have a pretty funny thing in common.

Describing his first date with Zara, he said: "First actual date, just went out for lunch locally. And then ended up being quite a boozy one. Then we figured out that we both like getting smashed. It was a good start."

But the happy couple will likely have a more subdued celebration for Tindall's 47th birthday now they have three children together.