Tindall opens up about father’s fight with Parkinson’s
WHAT a bittersweet time it’s been for Mike Tindall and his wife, the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips, who, after the heartache of two miscarriages, were overjoyed by the birth of their second daughter, lena, in June.
last night, however, the affable Tindall, 40, who likes to be known by one and all simply as Mike, revealed another struggle which is giving concern to the whole family — his father Philip’s battle against Parkinson’s disease.
‘He’s had it since 2003, but he’s really dropped off in the past few years,’ he told me at Bonham’s, who were hosting a private view in aid of Cure3.
The art project raises awareness as well as funds for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT), a charitable organisation dedicated to finding a cure for the disease, which afflicts more than ten million people worldwide.
‘This organisation focuses on the cure and stopping it, so there’s a lot going on,’ added Tindall, a former England rugby captain, who married Zara, 37, in 2011.
He also took the opportunity to question broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson’s recent assertion that Scots comedian Sir Billy Connolly had lost his mind to the disease.
‘You are generally compos mentis; it’s just your body is limited,’ explained Mike. ‘Billy Connolly has put himself up for stem cell testing, as has Michael J. Fox.’
Then Tindall, who recently had his nose straightened — he broke it eight times in his rugby career — smiled broadly as he disclosed his unwitting part in a recent break with royal protocol.
His four-year-old daughter Mia appeared in the official photographs at Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s wedding holding a ‘squidgy toy’.
‘She wanted to go down the aisle with it, but i took it off her and put it in my pocket,’ explained Mike. ‘i said to her: “i’ll give it back to you after.” i didn’t even think about pictures...’