Mia Tindall holding Queen Elizabeth’s handbag in her official 90th birthday portrait was unplanned.
The two-year-old daughter of Zara Phillips and former England rugby pro Mike Tindall was called upon to sit with her great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for the official picture and cheekily grabbed her purse before the camera bulb flashed.
Mike, 37, revealed: "As you can imagine, putting a family photo together with all the kids is never an easy job. So when Mia just picked up the Queen’s bag, the Queen was happy with it and it made a great photo. It reflected Mias character to a tee."
The dad of one – who wed Zara, an Olympic silver medalis, back in 2011 – revealed her cousins Savannah, five, and Isla, four, from Zara’s brother Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn, are great pals with Mia and the friends often go riding together.
He told Hello! magazine: "All three of them love each other. They often go riding together on our three Shetlands. Mia has progressed to a proper saddle now. The girls are like peas in a pod and I think that closeness between them will continue for many years.
Meanwhile, Zara – who is hoping to compete in the Rio Olympics in August after she helped the British team win silver at the 2014 World Equestrian Games – and Mike moved to Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Estate in Gloucestershire and love the pace of life there.
The 37-year-old father-of-one said: "I love it here. I like the pace that everything operates at. It has its own culture but is very friendly and is nothing like the rat race in London."
Mia Tindall picking up Queen Elizabeth’s bag was unplanned
