Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has poked fun at Mike Tindall’s appearance.
The monarch met Irish rugby player Brian O’Driscoll at a formal dinner at Windsor Castle and couldn’t resist a joke at the expense of her grandson-in-law, another rugby star who has broken his nose eight times playing the sport.
Brian told Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme: "Myself and my wife were invited to Windsor Castle for a dinner for the president of Ireland.
"The queen and the president of Ireland were there to meet everyone and greet them into the banquet hall, so I actually ended up being last in the queue and I was introduced as Brian O’Driscoll, ex rugby captain of Ireland.
"And the queen said ‘Oh yes, you’re retiring soon.’ I was shocked at her knowledge. She obviously had someone whispering in her ear.
"She said, ‘You look as if you’ve come out of it relatively unscathed. Your nose looks in better condition than Mike Tindall’s does. And I just thought, how unbelievably sharp of her. And I said to her, ‘Yes, thankfully it is.’ "
Mike – who first broke his nose aged just five in a funfair accident – famously revealed in 2011 his wife Zara Philips’ mother Princess Anne had asked whether he would have corrective surgery before they married, but he refused, saying: "It’s part of me."
And when his spouse was pregnant with their daughter Mia, now eight months, the sportsman joked he hoped their baby didn’t inherit his nose.
He tweeted: "Hopefully he/she won’t have my nose."
Queen Elizabeth mocks Mike Tindall
