Tindall defends Princess Royal over ‘jokey’ nose job request

When the rugby ace was spotted the day after his nuptials to the Queen’s granddaughter in the same outfit that he married in, it was suggested he had been celebrating too hard to go to bed.

However Tindall, 32, said that he was not able to change his clothes because of a mix-up with his luggage.

He also admitted that Zara’s mother, the Princess Royal, asked him to get his battered nose fixed so that it would look better in wedding photographs.

However he said that “it was a light-hearted, jokey comment” adding: “It wasn’t a big deal, and look at my nose – can you blame her?”

Tindall, who has endured dozens of serious injuries in the game, did not have any cosmetic treatment despite the request.

The rugby star, who suffered a bruised liver, punctured lung and spent several days in intensive care following a Six Nations match in 2008, said that fixing his nose would have been a mistake because he wanted to get back out on the rugby field after the wedding.

Tindall also said that he believed he was destined to be with Zara, who he married in Edinburgh in July.

They met eight years ago when some of the England players took Tindall out for a beer after he was dropped from the team before the World Cup semi-final.

He said: “I do believe in fate when I think about it. If I hadn’t been dropped, I wouldn’t have met Zara.”

When they first began dating, there was concern that their backgrounds – Tindall is the son of a social worker and a finance officer – were too different.

However he said: “I’ve been on the edge of her world all the time I’ve been playing rugby. I know William and Harry because they are great England supporters, and I’ve played against Peter (Zara’s brother).”