Royalist is The Daily Beast’s newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday.
When it comes to drinking, Prince William is officially a lightweight.
Indeed, he is apparently known as “One Pint Willy” because of his inability to imbibe large quantities of beer, a fellow royal family member has revealed.
Mike Tindall, the former rugby player who is married to Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara, revealed his nickname for his cousin-in-law William on the BBC Total Sport podcast, Seven: Rob Burrow With…
Tindall told former rugby league pro Burrow and his wife Lindsey, “For the Prince of Wales, he is known to me as ‘One Pint Willy,’ because he is not the best of drinkers—coming from a sport where it’s built on the social aspect and a couple of beers being sunk quite often. So yeah, that is one I will definitely give away for the Prince of Wales—One Pint Willy. There you go, it’s out there now, sorry sir.”
Laughing and gasping as her husband made the revelation, Zara said, “Oh my god… You’re in so much trouble.”
Tindall wasn’t done. After saying that he and his wife called each other “munchkin” and “my love,” he said that Zara had a nickname for him—under which he is listed in her phone—which he didn’t know if she’d like him to repeat.
“He is in my phone as something else—and it ends with ‘kitten,’” Zara confessed.
“You can fill the first word in, you can do poll on Twitter, see who can fill in the right word,” laughed Tindall.
Mike Tindall, left, and wife Zara at Cheltenham Festival, Cheltenham Racecourse, March 16, 2023.
Paul Childs/Reuters
Asked about growing up as a member of the royal family, Zara revealed she was grateful for the relatively down-to-earth upbringing Princess Anne provided. “I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn’t give us any titles—so I really commend her on that. And we were very lucky that we kind of got to do it a bit our own way. My family has a great work ethic as well, which I’m hoping that they instilled in me and is still going to this day—and we can hopefully pass on to our own kids.”
The couple, who married in 2011 and have three children, enjoyed going out, Zara said. “We do enjoy partying, and we enjoy life and doing fun stuff.” Tindall added that they were also competitive with each other, in a “loving” way.
