The Duke of Sussex is godfather to Mike and Zara's daughter Lena
Mike Tindall made an unexpected gesture of goodwill towards Prince Harry by featuring a clip of the Duke of Sussex on the Instagram page for his podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby.
The social media page, which is run by Mr Tindall, James Haskell and Alex Payne, reposted footage from Harry's appearance on the Joe Marler Will See You Now podcast, in what many are interpreting as a social media peace offering.
Just two months ago, Mr Tindall appeared to take a pointed swipe at the 41-year-old duke.
Speaking at the Hay Literary Festival in May, he said he knew Harry "when he was fun", a comment widely read as a dig at the prince's changed circumstances.
During his appearance on Mr Marler's podcast, the Celebrity Traitors star asked the duke to name the "most famous person" in his phone contacts, and Harry chose Mr Haskell.
"You've seen them play rugby, makes it a sport worth watching. Good looking guys, as well," Harry quipped about Mr Haskell.
Clearly thrilled by the royal endorsement, Mr Haskell posted his response on the podcast account he co-runs with Mr Tindall.
"Well, you can't argue with the Duke, can you?" he wrote, before adding with a wink: "Looks like it's 1-0, Marler."
Mr Tindall's earlier remark came during an off-camera conversation at the literary festival in Powys, Wales, where he also cracked jokes about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Reflecting on his 2011 wedding to Harry's cousin Zara Tindall, 45, the former England centre expressed amusement that Mr Haskell managed not to embarrass himself at the ceremony.
He then turned his attention to the duke, noting: "A lot of other people managed that way better than you [like] Harry, when he was fun."
The royal wedding took place five years before Harry met Meghan Markle.
The duke and Mr Tindall were once firm friends, with Harry serving as godfather to the couple's middle child, Lena, eight. The pair regularly appeared together at family occasions, including a lunch marking the late Queen's 90th birthday.
Harry and Mrs Tindall also grew up spending considerable time in each other's company. The Tindalls were guests at Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding and showed their support at the Sentebale Concert two years earlier.
Their bond appears to have weakened significantly, however, following Harry's decision to step back from senior royal duties in 2020 and relocate to the United States. Whether the two remain in contact is unclear.
In 2023, Mr Tindall visited Santa Barbara, placing him just 30 minutes from the Sussexes' Montecito home, though it remains unknown whether any meeting took place.
