Zara Tindall breaks silence on 'hard' royal family struggles amid reports of Prince Harry feud in rare interview

Amid ongoing reports of tensions within the British monarchy, Zara Tindall has spoken out.

The mother-of-three - the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, and the eldest niece of King Charles III - has given a rare interview with press this week, alluding to her family's angst towards Prince Harry.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, has remained somewhat estranged from his family since he and wife Meghan Markle resigned from the royal duties in 2020, before fleeing from the UK to the States to set up a new 'private' life.

Following their departure, the couple - who wed in 2018 - made a number of bombshell allegations against the Royal Family in the form of high-profile interviews, a Netflix documentary and a full-fledged memoir.

Harry has been estranged from his family for some time (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

They details instances of Meghan's alleged mistreatment by Harry's brother, Prince William, and sister-in-law, Kate Middleton - both of whom had supposedly been against the Suits actress from day one.

The pair also made damning accusations about Queen Camilla selling stories to the news, and referenced an occasion that allegedly saw a leading member of the monarchy raise concerns surrounding the skin colour of the couple's son, Prince Archie.

In the years since, the Duke has only returned to his home country a handful of times - including a fleeting visit for his father's coronation.

And whilst the vast majority of the majority seemingly prefer to remain tight-lipped when it comes to allegations of a fall-out, the ever-refreshing Zara Tindall is this week setting the record straight on where they stand with Harry now.

Speaking at a London Sporting Club lunch last week, the 43-year-old alluded to the existence of tensions within the monarchy in her address.

According to The Sun, Zara said: "It is very hard to see from the outside, but 100 percent, it is a family that is still going through the same struggles other people do."

Zara alluded to the feud in a rare interview (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Despite the Tindalls previously boasting a close relationship to Harry, Sky News Australia recently reported that socialite Zara and her ex-rugby star husband Mike Tindall cut ties with the prince after he 'betrayed' Charles with his accusations against the monarchy.

It remains uncertain, however, whether the cousins truly do remain estranged behind the scenes.

Speaking at this week's event, silver-medal winning Olympic equestrian Zara went on to emphasise that there's still a lot of love to be shared within her family - despite what the tabloid media might report.

"Whether they are relationships, obviously, it is very easy to see every day," she explained.

"We’re still very supportive of each other."

Zara went on to discuss the impact that Queen Elizabeth II's passing has had on the monarchy, with the royal famously having had a soft spot for both Zara and Harry.

Crediting the late Queen as an 'inspiration to all', she continued: "We had a very incredible person to look up to who is sadly not here anymore.

The couple got married in 2011 (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

"She was amazing and an inspiration to all of us."

Elsewhere during her speech, Zara told attendees of how she and her sportsman husband got together, claiming it happened after she insisted that he stripped naked during a drunken night out in 2003.

She recalled the pair had been invited to a 'lunch or dinner' date, during which Mike allegedly asked her for a kiss.

"I said, 'If you get naked, I will give you a kiss'," Zara looked back this week. "So he got naked, I gave him a kiss and then . . . anyway.

"He was so drunk and he passed out and I had to leave him there."

She continued: "One of my mates had to come and pick him up. I can’t move a 20-stone rugby player when he has passed out."

Zara's interview came just days after Prince Harry told the BBC he didn't want to see his family fighting anymore.

"I would love reconciliation with my family," the father of three explained earlier this month, after he and Meghan's request for taxpayer-funded security and protection was declined.

Harry spoke out about his long-rumoured rift earlier this month (BBC)

He added that, whilst there have been 'so many disagreements', over the years, 'there's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious.'

“I don’t know how much longer my father has," Harry continued, referring Charles' ongoing battle with cancer.

"You know, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to - it would be nice to reconcile."