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NEED TO KNOW
- Mike Tindall announced that his father, Phil, died last week at age 80
- Phil, a former captain of Otley Rugby Club, was honored with a moment of silence during a match last weekend
- Tindall had previously spoken publicly about his father’s long battle with Parkinson’s disease
Mike Tindall is mourning the loss of his father, Phil Tindall, who died last week at age 80.
Tindall, 47, the former England rugby star who is married to Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, 45, shared the news on the Sept. 23 episode of his podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby.
“Unfortunately, my dad passed away last week,” Tindall revealed.
Phil was also a rugby player, and his former club honored him with a moment of silence during a match last weekend. Phil played for Otley Rugby Club in West Yorkshire during the 1972 and 1973 seasons and served as the club’s captain.
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Tindall said he was sent footage of the tribute and later read a message about his father in the match program.
“That little moment, I got to watch it,” he said. “Someone recorded it, sent it to me, and then they wrote a little thing in the program as well, which I read. But thank you very much to Otley Rugby Club for it.”
He also offered a “Big shout-out to Otley Rugby Club,” adding, “They played Chester on the weekend, and they did a minute’s silence to my dad, who was captain in ‘72, ‘73.”
Phil’s rugby career was cut short after an injury shortly before his marriage to Tindall’s mother, Linda. Tindall recalled that his father broke his leg just one week before the couple married in 1969.
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“He got married in 69, broke his leg the week before, went down the aisle in a cast,” Tindall said. “I mean, it sort of all went wrong. He had to retire at 27.”
Phil later remained an important figure in his son’s rugby career. In previous interviews, Tindall described his father as a significant influence on his development as a player, including teaching him how to tackle in their backyard, according to PEOPLE’s previous reporting.
Tindall’s dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a condition Tindall had spoken publicly about for years. In 2020, Tindall said his father had been living with the disease for 17 years and that he had watched his condition gradually deteriorate.
“My dad has had Parkinson’s for the past 17 years,” Tindall told the Daily Mail in 2020. “Over the last few years, I’ve really seen him deteriorate.”
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The illness became an increasingly personal cause for Tindall. He worked to raise money for Parkinson’s research through Cure Parkinson’s, where he served as a patron, including taking part in cycling events to raise funds.
By 2021, Tindall said his father’s physical decline had become more pronounced. He recalled that the effects of the disease were noticeable around the time of his wedding to Zara in 2011 and said his father’s physical decline had included curvature of the spine and subsequent medical problems.
At the time, Tindall also spoke about how much his father had meant to him and how difficult it was to see the limitations the disease had placed on him.
“He would love to play more with the grandkids, he’d love to be able to pick them up, throw them around,” Tindall told BBC Breakfast in 2021.
