The Gold Coast got a whole lot more glitzy as British royals Mike and Zara Tindall touched down on our shores with their three children this week.
Ditching the winter gloom of the UK for an Aussie summer, the couple were thrilled to return to their home away from home as Zara, 44 – patron of Magic Millions Racing Women – got set to compete in the third annual Magic Millions Queensland Off-The-Track (QOTT) Cup final on January 11.
READY TO RELOCATE
So fond of our country are Mike and Zara – daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips – that they’re eager to put down roots with their young family, Mia, who turns 12 on January 17, Lena, seven, and Lucas, four.
And according to our sources, the couple have set their sights on Byron Bay – just a stone’s throw from celebrity pals and fellow parents-of-three Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky – Magic Millions’ global ambassador for showjumping.
“Chris and Elsa would love nothing more than for Zara and Mike to join their Byron Bay posse,” our insider says. “They’ve been on at them for years to buy their own place in Australia – they’re here almost every year, so it makes sense.
“Buying a bolthole Down Under has been something Zara’s talked about for years and Byron’s always been top of their list. The kids get on great with the Hemsworth kids and absolutely love the gorgeous beaches and crystal-clean waters of Byron.”
However, while Zara and Mike, 47 – who famously met in Australia in 2003 when then-rugby-union player Mike was competing in the World Cup – are keen to narrow down their property search, insiders note the pull of family and duty in the UK won’t allow them to stay away for too long.
“Mike and Zara know they couldn’t move to Oz permanently while her mum still needs her, but having their own base in Byron doesn’t take much convincing,” our source explains.
“Their ultimate goal is to spend six months a year in each country, which is why they’re serious about buying and there’s nowhere else they like more than Byron.”
THEIR SECOND HOME
Zara always enjoys coming to Australia, having already made a tight-knit group of friends here over the years, and told news.com.au that it was a “great honour” to be a part of the Magic Millions Carnival.
“I love coming down here and we love being a part of it,” she said. “We have some great friends down here, so it is like a second home to us.
“We love being here, we’ve got great memories here. We always have a great time and I think we have the same values as Australians, anyway. It’s an easy friendship.”
Another good reason for the royals to set up a home base in Australia is to allow Zara more time to get properly acclimatised and be better prepared each year before she commences her showjumping duties – a luxury she’s not currently afforded.
“We don’t get a lot of preparation,” she told news.com.au of her present schedule, flying in from the UK with little time to spare. “When I land, I go and sit on the horse and ride it a couple of times before Sunday.”
Fortunately, the racing thoroughbreds are so good at their jobs they don’t require too much retraining!
“They love their job. I love them. You know, whatever you ask of them, whatever discipline they’re in, they are incredible animals like that,” she noted. “It’s good fun. It’s great to be a part of it.”
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