Mike Tindall, the former England rugby international married to King Charles’ eldest niece, has revealed that his father, Phil Tindall, has died after living with Parkinson’s disease for more than 20 years. The 47-year-old shared the news with listeners of his podcast, “The Good, The Bad & The Rugby,” on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
“Unfortunately, my dad passed away last week,” he told listeners, speaking alongside co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne.
Payne sent a message of support on air, on behalf of the hosts and the show’s audience, to Tindall and his family.
Diagnosed in England’s World Cup Year
The diagnosis came in 2003, the year Mike was part of the England squad that won the Rugby World Cup in Australia. The condition is a progressive brain disorder characterized by shaking, balance problems and difficulties with movement. In Phil’s case it affected his spine and discs, and he needed a wheelchair at times.
Mike Tindall has said he did not really register the impact of the illness until the late 2000s, several years after the diagnosis. His mother, Linda Tindall, a former social worker, took on much of her husband’s care as his condition deteriorated. In 2021, her son paid tribute to her stubborn devotion to the man she refused to give up on.
Speaking in May, he gave a stark assessment of his father’s health. “Parkinson’s is brutal and there is no let-up from how it attacks the body and changes people,” he said. He added at the time that more than 23 years of the disease had stripped away much of the man his father had been.
A Rugby Life Rooted in Otley
Long before his son pulled on an England shirt, Phil Tindall was a fixture at Otley Rugby Club in West Yorkshire, the town where Mike Tindall grew up. He first turned out for Otley’s senior side aged 17 during the 1963-64 season, playing at fly-half and center, and took the captaincy nearly a decade later, leading the club through the 1972 and 1973 seasons. Away from the pitch, he worked as a banker for Barclays Bank.
His playing days were cut short at 27. On the podcast, his son revisited one particularly badly timed injury, suffered days before Phil married Linda in 1969. “He got married in ’69, broke his leg the week before, went down the aisle in a cast,” Tindall recalled, adding that it all went wrong from there and his father had to retire.
A Patron of Cure Parkinson’s
His father’s illness turned Tindall into a persistent campaigner on Parkinson’s. He became a patron of Cure Parkinson’s in 2018 and has generated funds and attention with a yearly Celebrity Golf Classic he hosts, on top of challenges on the bike and on foot. His wife, Zara Tindall, joined him at this year’s golf event in May, which fell on her birthday.
Tindall has said that watching his father’s quality of life fall away so dramatically is precisely why he does not want other families to see a parent or loved one suffer in the same way. He has also spoken about what he might have done differently had he understood the condition earlier, saying he would have pushed his father harder on exercise and staying strong, but that research and public awareness of the warning signs were nowhere near where they are now.
Married Into the Royal Family
Tindall won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011 and has since built a second career in broadcasting and podcasting. He has been married for 15 years to Zara, a successful equestrian and the daughter of Princess Anne.
Between them the pair have three children: Mia, Lena and Lucas, who occupy 24th, 25th and 26th place in the line of succession. Zara does not hold a royal title, after Princess Anne declined one for her, which means the children are untitled as well.
A Minute’s Silence at Otley
Otley marked the death of its former captain with a minute’s silence before its match against Chester last weekend, and the club printed a dedication to Phil Tindall in the match-day program. Someone filmed the tribute and sent the footage to his son, who said he watched the moment back and read the message in the program.
On the podcast, Tindall gave a shout-out to the club and thanked its players for the gesture.