The King is thought to be keen on Zara taking a more prominent royal role - but what's in it for the jet-setting Tindalls?, the Burghley Horse Trials earlier this month offered a typical combination of business and bruising competition. The King’s niece suffered a dramatic fall while riding at the equestrian event but also met her commercial obligations by launching a new line of ruggedly chic winter coats for one of her formidable array of sponsors.
According to one estimate, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest granddaughter has earned about £15m from her business interests, with her husband – who is reckoned to be Britain’s fourth highest-earning former rugby international – amassing a similar sum through multiple ventures ranging from his appearance onThe result is the emergence of a £30m House of Windsor power couple who are increasingly having to walk a line between the fruits of their entrepreneurial success as sporting...
“This really comes down to the future of the Royal Family. There are objectively very few who are relatable and lead normal lives in the sort of way that the Tindalls do. But at the same time, they have been very good at leading private lives away from most of the sort of scrutiny that comes with doing the royal job. The question is would they be willing or able to make that sort of sacrifice?”
It has been a fruitful relationship. SEL’s UK business, which also employs Peter Phillips – Zara’s sister – as its managing director, boasts that it has “secured a portfolio of major sponsors” to support her in “achieving her huge sporting success”. She has had a deal as a brand ambassador for Land Rover, said to be worth £200,000 a year, since 2006 – the same year that she won BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The Tindalls travel to Australia every January to attend Magic Millions, an annual yearling sale and racing festival in Queensland for which Zara is an ambassador to encourage women’s participation in the sport – a relationship which is estimated to earn her £125,000 a year. During the couple’s last visit to the region, she was seen in a social media video for a shopping centre which helps sponsor the festival.
As matters stand, the couple are able to lead glamorous and relatively private lives from their home on Princess Anne’s Gatcombe estate in Gloucestershire, while making occasional appearances alongside senior royals at events such as the annual Windsor gathering at Balmoral.