Zara and Mike Tindall regularly quash their royal status – so why aren’t the usual critics outraged?

Dressed head to toe in the latest outdoor gear, Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall looked right at home modeling items from sportswear brand Musto. The recent shoot was another successful media moment for the royal family and the British clothing company, thanks to an accompanying interview about mother Princess Anne, which was widely reported in Britain’s most widely read newspapers.

The campaign is part of an ongoing ambassadorship for former Olympic rider Zara, rumored to be worth £500,000 ($570,000), and comes alongside some of the many big money deals made by the late Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter and her husband Mike Tindall.

Just a week earlier it was revealed that Mike, who played for England rugby team between 2001 and 2011, had accepted an offer from the ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here — a primetime series known for subjecting its celebrity contestants to grueling ordeals that include such horrors as being buried alive or having buckets full of bugs or innards thrown over your head.

It’s a gig that can fetch up to £500,000 for big enough names, especially if the talent attending can guarantee network bosses the right headlines (which in turn will result in higher ratings). Throughout my years of reporting entertainment news, I recall how detailed the contracts between contestants and production companies for shows like this were, often detailing what insightful stories they could provide. I’m hearing from sources it was a similar scenario for Mike, who has reportedly agreed not to keep quiet about life within the royal flock. It makes sense — a lot of viewers will tune into that.

Cashing in on royal status is usually a trigger for dedicated royalists and the media, many of whom have spent the last two years complaining about a certain California royal couple’s various business antics as Tindalls’ various royal cash-ins come and go , without a sound being heard from the most sensitive columnists.

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In fact, it was just the opposite. A recent tabloid article went so far to celebrate Tindall’s influencer status, which accounts for over £1m ($1.2m) in branded deals, including a CBD oil company and a controversial COVID-19 test result app. “They are two of the most sought-after members of the royal family,” the article reads applauded. “…master at closing lucrative deals.”

And listen, I personally don’t see anything wrong with Zara and Mike securing every bag offered. With their sporting background, sponsorship money would always have been open to them during their careers – albeit for smaller sums. Zara was named Sports Personality of the Year by the BBC in 2006 and earned a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, while Mike won the 2003 World Championship. But it’s impossible to deny that the big bucks come solely because of their positions as members of the royal family. A closer look at each signed partnership will reveal that the press releases contain at least one royal reference for most, and if not, it always pops up in accompanying interviews. (It was no different when Peter Philips, Princess Anne’s other child, was promoting Bright Dairies’ milk in China for a 2020 campaign that aimed against palatial imagery. He might be a savvy businessman, but just a fool would believe the company selected him as such spokesperson because of his Board accomplishments).

While neither Zara nor Mike have titles, HRH status, or work roles, their closeness to The Firm and the late Queen Elizabeth II was enough to make many brands and wealthy figures salivate. Both have found success in sports, but the couple real USP is royal.

Two years ago, it was revealed that a Hong Kong businessman had paid Zara £100,000 ($115,000) for horse racing advice, and the same person had also paid Sarah, Duchess of York £300,000 ($340,000) for “marketing and… Advertisement “given” activities and later attended Princess Eugenie’s wedding. You’re starting to wonder if this exchange is just about brands or individuals trying to position themselves closer to the royal family. A golden ticket, if you will.

The rules governing sponsorships for non-working members of the royal family are equal parts confusing and selective. For the Sussexes, who are no longer in working roles or using their HRH titles, every penny received or contract signed has come under scrutiny by the UK media. Even as the couple jumped into a fintech wealth manager with their own money, it wasn’t long before criticism was voiced about who else might have been on the board or which companies the firm was affiliated with.

It boils down to that selective outrage all too familiar to anyone who follows the royal beat bubble. A hypocritical world where royal protocol is rarely a real thing and usually a fictional device used by tabloids to pin negative narratives to whoever they need hate clicks from at the time. (Even at the Queen’s State Funeral, the Sussexes were publicly scolded for holding hands, but the Tindalls, who did exactly the same thing, were hailed as respectful).

I’m just curious how the protocol police are going to find a way to still find it respectable when the late Queen’s grandson-in-law spends three weeks watching a seedy reality series. Surely, once fake nail polish was able to see the resurgence of the Salem witch trials, eating raw kangaroo anus to entertain TV viewers for a review should result in a total media meltdown. Right?