Princess Anne’s son-in-law Mike Tindall defended after wearing ‘Make England Great Again’ hat

Princess Anne’s son-in-law, Mike Tindall, has sparked a heated discussion online after wearing a 'Make England Great Again' hat.

Tindall, who tied the knot with the Princess Royal's daughter, Zara, back in 2011, appeared on his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast on Tuesday (24 February) in an episode titled Panic or Don't Panic? Dissecting England’s Defeat To Ireland.

During the podcast, he donned a red hat which read 'MAKE ENGLAND GREAT AGAIN' in white capital letters, looking very similar to US President Donald Trump's controversial 'MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN' or 'MAGA' headwear, which has been considered a symbol of divisiveness, often perceived as a 'provocation' or a 'team uniform' for intolerant views.

After catching light of the clip, many royals and rugby fans rushed to social media to share their thoughts on Tindall's hat choice with some reckoning it was simply a reference to 'how badly' the English rugby team are performing at the moment, while others reckoned that, even if it was a joke, it wasn't appropriate given the current political climate.

Mike Tindall, Princess Anne's son-in-law, has sparked a heated discussion after wearing a 'Make England Great Again' hat on his rugby podcast (YouTube/The Good, The Bad & The Rugby)

One defender hit out on Reddit: "People can't take three seconds to Google for context these days, huh? Gotta fire off that outrage straight away. It's a reference to how badly the English rugby team is playing right now - lost 31-20 to Scotland, then 42-21 to Ireland, and worst of all played like they'd never seen a rugby field before.

"Poor choice of joke because of how people would react in this polarised age? Certainly. A sign he supports Trump, Farage and the rest? No (he might, IDK, but this isn't a reason to believe he does)."

A second chimed in: "I don’t think it’s poor taste, the MAGA hats have become a bit of a meme around the world, if anything, he’s indirectly mocking them too. The punchline is 'I’m a fanatic for the joke-cause, i.e., making England suck less at rugby like they used to."

"It’s on his rugby podcast, plus the MAGA hats are a punchline globally (e.g. Greenlanders were wearing red hats printed with Make Americans Go Away!) the joke and the context would be understood by everyone listening to the podcast with no explanations needed," echoed a third.

Some fans defended Tindall's hat while others claimed it was a 'poor choice' (YouTube/The Good, The Bad & The Rugby)

A fourth added: "It’s a joke about how England is shit at rugby right now."

"Thank Christ for that! Not a wise choice on his part, far too close to the bone - but I hope your context is correct," commented a fifth.

"Is it in poor taste? Yes. Is it political about the current English population? No. It’s about the English rugby team looking and playing pretty terribly. A lot of comments are taking this pretty out of context however, I do agree, in context, still a poor choice of hat," outlined a sixth.

Another, however, hit out: "When you all go so hard to try and explain something, you've already failed!

"He knows how that slogan would be interpreted, but still decided to do so, esp in this climate when his family is in the headlines every single day. That makes him both dumb and stupid."

And a final Redditor penned: "Mike - mate - with everything going on with the in-laws right now, a Trump joke is not it."

Tyla has reached out to Mike Tindall's representatives for comment.