Prince Charles shares a much closer relationship with niece Zara Tindall than Meghan and Kate, says royal biographer
Although quite a lot of official royal family engagements are meant to be formal affairs, Zara Tindall managed to showcase the close relationship and warm bond that she shares with Prince Charles as she managed to throw a friendly arm around him at Royal Ascot.
According to a royal biographer, the display of affection between the Prince of Wales and his niece is proof of the strong bond they share, which is much warmer than his relationship with his daughters-in-law -- Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.
While Charles is known to get on well with William and Harry's wives, it's Zara who has the closest bond with him.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson told the Sun: "Zara is blood family. He has known her since she was a baby so it is far closer than say his relationships with his daughters-in-law. Charles is closest to his sister Anne of all his siblings and has always been very supportive and affectionate towards his niece."
On Tuesday, June 18, the duo's close relationship was on full display as Zara slung a friendly arm around her uncle's shoulders while they caught up at Royal Ascot. It was a level of affection that's never been witnessed between Charles and either of his daughters-in-law, although he has been seen joking and laughing with the Duchess of Cambridge.
Charles is even close to Meghan, his younger son's wife, for he famously offered to step in at the couple's wedding and walked the former 'Suits' actress down the aisle in May 2018, when her father Thomas Markle pulled out days before her wedding in disgrace over staged paparazzi shots.
But Zara, who spent much of her childhood with her cousins William and Harry, is closer to the family because the brothers are merely two and four years younger than she is. During childhood visits to Highgrove, the family residence of the Prince of Wales in Tetbury, Zara would cause "chaos" while playing with her younger cousin William.
It has been further claimed that the cousins have also remained close as adults and are often spotted enjoying days out together with their own children. Prince Harry is godfather to Zara and Mike's youngest daughter Lena and the Cambridges' went to the Burnham Horse trials with the Tindalls this year.
And just like Zara, William and Harry are all similar ages, their children have also been born close together and enjoy playing with each other. Zara's husband Mike once said in an interview, "Lena and obviously Louis are similar ages and Mia's sort of in between Charlotte and George."