Princess Anne’s ‘gift of freedom’ to Zara is to thank for their ‘tactile’ bond

Zara Tindall may not be a working member of the British Royal Family but the 42-year-old is known to have strong relationships with her senior relatives, including Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince William, and her uncle, King Charles.

While the mother-of-three is most commonly seen in public with her husband Mike Tindall or her equal-ranking relatives, Zara has maintained a close bond with her mother, Princess Anne, throughout her life.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, body language expert Judi James analysed the profound connection they share as mother and daughter.

The royal expert commented: “Sightings of these two women together are reasonably rare because Zara is not a working royal, meaning we tend to see them together at royal equine events like Ascot, or the biggest royal events like weddings and funerals. And when we do Anne will tend to be up there with the top tier in the royal Firm, while Zara and family will often arrive with the other family groups.

“When we see them at family gatherings though, a surprising side of Anne emerges as she fulfils the role of granny and mother rather than Princess. Normally serious and rather imposing she will show her tactile, fun side and the older she gets the more we see Zara, Mike and their children as well as Peter and his girls bring that side out.”

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Judi continued: “The bonds between mother and daughter are obvious at any event though, from the mutual gazes that pass between them of strong affection and mutual respect.

“Both Anne and Zara had successful careers as riders and this shared passion seems to have added an extra level to their bonding, just as it did between Anne and her mother the late Queen Elizabeth II.”

While Princess Royal and her daughter present a closeness to one another in their adult years, the body language expert claimed that their heartwarming bond stems from Anne’s own childhood as well as Zara’s youth.

She explained: “Both Zara and Anne had a formal, royal side to their upbringing but it was Zara who was given the gift of freedom from her mother when she made her a non-royal, while Anne has been a pillar of the Firm with a life of duty and hard work.

“When she was younger, Anne’s body language always showed her as her father’s daughter, with mirrored behaviours that revealed like-minded thinking. But both Anne and her mother had stoicism in their DNA, and as the two women got older they tended to dress alike and spend time together, using signals of shared humour like friends as well as mother and daughter.”

Of course, the death of Queen Elizabeth II was a poignant time for Anne and Zara, who were thrust into the public eye as they grieved their loss.

Judi claimed that during this time, the world got a closer look into the personal relationship between the pair, specifically Anne’s “stoic” side which was “shocking” to see from the stiff-upper-lipped royal. She went on to explain that it is this surprising softness from Anne that she believes is what gives Zara her famed “free-spirited” character.

The expert claimed: “We are so used to seeing Zara as the member of the Royal Family who is uninhibited when it comes to body language signals of playful fun, affection and even passion, with her tactile and loving displays with her husband Mike. While there might seem to be few similarities in the parenting styles of Anne and Zara, the mother-of-three would have learnt those behaviours from her own upbringing.

“And that means their parenting styles as mothers might be similar. Watching Anne with her grandchildren we can see her going almost into the ‘child’ state herself, playing and laughing with few, if any signs of imposing rules of behaviour.”

When it comes to Anne’s role in Zara’s own family, the 72-year-old is more than just a doting mother and grandparent. In fact, Judi noted that she also has a genuine relationship with Mike.

Having been part of the family since the early 2000s, the former rugby player is well respected by royal relatives – particularly the in-laws. Judi claimed: “Anne’s relationship with Mike looks equally relaxed. Mike is clearly the fun guy of the Royal Family and his sporting glory adds a heroic quality that Anne would obviously admire.

“He appears unfazed by royal status and that would presumably suit Anne down to the ground.

“Anne donated the gift of freedom to her daughter Zara and Zara in turn seems to have given her mother a family environment where she can let her hair down and be a “fun” granny and mother away from all the formality of her royal duties.”