Mike Tindall

Michael James Tindall, MBE born 18 October 1978 is a rugby player who plays Outside centre for Gloucester Rugby and has captained the England team. His fiancée is Zara Phillips, the daughter of HRH The Princess Royal and the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

Tindall was born in Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, and was educated at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, while his father Phil captained Otley. He refused braces to straighten his teeth, one of his greatest regrets; and served fish and chips from a van while studying.

Bath

Tindall joined Bath straight from school, as an 18-year-old in 1997. At that point the centre pairing at Bath and England were Jeremy Guscott and Phil de Glanville. But after the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Tindall stepped up to become a regular fixture at both club and country level, making his debut against Ireland at Twickenham in 2000 alongside Mike Catt.

Despite receiving criticism over the years, in particular from Will Carling and ex-Bath fly-half Stuart Barnes, he cemented the outside centre position as his own with a partnership with inside centre Will Greenwood, playing in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Tindall played in the number 12 jersey and played at outside centre, with Greenwood in the number 13. The shirt numbers frequently misled people into thinking they played the other way around, though in fact those who watched saw that Tindall all but invariably lined up outside Greenwood. He was dropped for the semi-final in favour of Mike Catt, whose kicking was required in the rainy weather, but reinstated in the final.

Tindall missed the 2005 Six Nations with a foot injury and subsequently failed to regain his fitness for the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Described by England's former head coach, Andy Robinson as the 'heartbeat' of the side, Tindall was gradually finding his way back to form following a lengthy absence from the game during 2005.

Personal life

Tindall has two criminal convictions for drunk driving. On 8 January 2009 he was convicted, was banned from driving for three years and fined £500 for drink-driving, with £75 costs. This was the consequence of an incident on the M4 motorway on 15 March 2008, following a day out at Cheltenham Racing Festival with Zara Phillips. This was Tindall's second drunk driving conviction. The earlier conviction, in 2000, resulted in a 16-month disqualification (which was in itself in excess of the obligatory 12-month disqualification for a first offence).

On 21 December 2010 it was announced that he was engaged to Zara Phillips, the daughter of HRH The Princess Anne, Princess Royal, and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips. Phillips is the granddaughter of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The wedding is set for July 30, 2011.

Gloucester Rugby

After returning from injury in the Autumn of 2005, Tindall regained his England place but this time at number 12. However at club level he continued to play at 13 with the 12 shirt going to Henry Paul. The partnership was heavily criticised as being flat and boring and Tindall spent much of the season showing a poor run of form despite selection week in, week out. It wasn't until an incident at Tindall's girlfriend's birthday party that Henry Paul broke club rules and fell out of favour with Gloucester Rugby coach, Dean Ryan. This brought in the introduction of young centre Anthony Allen, which towards the end of the season helped forged what became the start of a very powerful centre partnership. His partnership with Jamie Noon for England was much criticised, with many people claiming that the bulky partnership lacked imagination and play-making ability.Tindall has a strong cult following however, and is often nicknamed "The Fridge" due to his sizeable bulk.

During his recuperation from another injury in 2005, Tindall entered the prestigious British Poker Open tournament, finishing in 3rd place in his heat before being eliminated by John Gale. On 18 November 2006 Tindall made his first Guinness Premiership start of the season against third-placed Wasps. Troubled by a calf injury so far into the 2006/07 season, he had made only two appearances as a replacement, against Worcester and Irish Tindall came back from his injury however with a much more highly rated run of form. His 10, 12 and 13 partnership of Ryan Lamb, Anthony Allen and himself inspired him to play more attacking and exciting rugby and since has become a Gloucester Rugby favourite. Gloucester supporters now affectionately hold him with high regard and he continued the season extremely well in helping Gloucester Rugby with his own running abilities, powerful defence and tactical kicking to top spot of the Guinness Premiership.

Tindall was again included in the England starting line up for the 2007 Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham, under new head coach Brian Ashton. Selected to play outside former Rugby League star Andy Farrell, the pair combined to make what is arguably the largest centre partnership in international history.

In April 2007 playing away against Newcastle Falcons in the Guinness Premiership, Tindall broke his leg in a tackle on Toby Flood and this forced him to miss the rest of the season, including the Guinness Premiership final, where his leadership would have been critical in a young backline. This also precluded his selection for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

In October 2007 Tindall returned to the Gloucester Rugby starting line up after recovering from injury against Worcester Warriors at home in the Guinness Premiership. Tindall had a fairytale comeback, scoring a try to the Shed's delight. He has since played most of Gloucester Rugby's games scoring a handful of tries including one against Ulster Rugby in the Heineken Cup, where he contributed to Gloucester Rugby setting a new record in the Tournament's history, the fastest time to score 4 tries and collect the try bonus point.

On 7 December 2007 against Bourgoin in the Heineken Cup, Tindall limped off the field with a severe shin injury sustained in a similar tackle from that done against Newcastle last season when Tindall broke his leg. Despite this injury, Tindall recovered fast and played the following week, and continued his form for Gloucester.

In February 2008 Tindall was named in England Head Coach Brian Ashton's squad for the upcoming 6 Nations tournament, and thus started for England at outside centre against Wales at Twickenham on 2 February 2008. Early in the second half of the game, Tindall dived on the ball in open play, landing on Welsh full-back Lee Byrne's foot which pressed up into his chest. Tindall was stretchered off showing signs of severe pain, but the immediate belief was damage to his ribcage, however 45 minutes later he was rushed to hospital, where it became clear he had punctured his lung, and also torn a 2 inch tear in his liver, in which 2 pints of blood bled before clotting. Tindall spent the following 5 days in intensive care before he was released to return to his home at Gatcombe Park.

Kate Middleton

(England Twitter)-Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton, (born 9 January 1982) is the fiancée of Prince William of Wales. Their wedding is to take place on 29 April 2011, after which she will officially be known as HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. Middleton grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, Berkshire, England, and studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. They started a romantic relationship that continued until a break-up lasting for several months in 2007. However, they continued to be friends and rekindled their relationship later that year.

Since then, Middleton has attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists. Once their relationship became public, Middleton received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that they would eventually marry. On 16 November 2010 the office of the Prince of Wales at Clarence House announced their engagement, with details announced one week later.

Biography

Early life and family

Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 and christened at St Andrew’s Bradfield, Berkshire on 20 June 1982.:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant and now part-owner of Party Pieces with an estimated worth of £30 million, and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways, currently also an owner of Party Pieces. Her parents married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a successful mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Middleton's two siblings are a sister, Philippa Charlotte, known as "Pippa" (born 1983), and a brother, James William (born 1987). The family have complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Middleton's engagement.

Middleton's paternal family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work. Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer.Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.

Career

In November 2006 Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. In September 2007 it was reported[citation needed] that Middleton was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced that she intended to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Middleton and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.

Public image and style

Middleton has been featured in several best-dressed lists and was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers.Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007.She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.[Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007. In June 2008 Style.com selected Middleton as its monthly beauty icon. In July 2008 Middleton was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list. In February 2011 Middleton was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.

Prince William

Middleton's status as the undeclared girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in Britain and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005 she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity. In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fuelled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.

Breakup and reconciliation

On 14 April 2007 The Sun newspaper broke a "world exclusive" suggesting that Prince William and Middleton had split up.Other media outlets, such as the BBC, confirmed the story as the day progressed. The couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt. Clarence House made only one comment about the relationship's end, according to The Times, stating, "We don't comment on Prince William's private life." Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources.

Engagement and wedding

See also: Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton

Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William's passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010. The couple are to marry in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011, with the day declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

Title upon marriage

Unlike the majority of royal brides, and in contrast to most previous consorts-in-waiting for over 350 years, Middleton does not come from a royal or aristocratic background and therefore has no title of her own.

Middleton's title upon marriage will depend upon the additional title, if any, which is bestowed upon William. It is customary for royal men to receive a dukedom when they marry. It has been suggested that possible dukedoms for William after his marriage are Clarence, Cambridge, Sussex, Connaught, Kendal, Avondale, and Strathearn.By convention, the wife of a son or grandson of the Sovereign is entitled to the style title or attribute of "Royal Highness". Therefore as the wife of a royal duke and prince, Middleton would assume the title of duchess and be known as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of X"

Public appearances

Middleton was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, two months before the wedding, when she and William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Trearddur, North Wales. On 16 February 2011 Clarence House announced that Middleton's and William's first royal tour of Canada would take place in July 2011.

Titles, styles and arms

9 January 1982 – 29 April 2011: Miss Catherine Middleton

29 April 2011 – present: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge

Coat of Arms

Arms of Kate Middleton

Notes

Kate Middleton's coat of arms is based on those of her father Michael Middleton. Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, the senior officer of the College of Arms, helped the family with the design. The shield of arms in her version is lozenge shaped and hangs from a blue ribbon, this symbolises her unmarried state. This version of the coat of arms can only be used by Kate or her sister Pippa as it denotes a spinster daughter of their father Michael Middleton.

Escutcheon

On a lozenge, per pale Azure and Gules, a chevron Or, cotised Argent, between three acorns slipped and leaved Or.

Other elements

The lozenge hangs from a blue ribbon, tied in a bow.

Symbolism

The dividing line (between two colours) down the centre is a canting of the name 'Middle-ton'. The acorns (from the oak tree) is a traditional symbol of England and a feature of west Berkshire, where the family have lived for 30 years. The three acorns also denote the family's three children. The gold chevron in the centre of the arms is an allusion to Carole Middleton's maiden name of Goldsmith. The two white chevronels (narrow chevrons above and below the gold chevron) symbolise peaks and mountains, and the family's love of the Lake District and skiing

Ancestry

Middleton shares many ancestors with Prince William. The closest relationship via William's mother is a common descent from Sir Thomas Fairfax (d. 1520/1) and his wife Agnes Gascoine.The closest relationship via William's father is a common descent from Sir William Gascoine (d. 1487) and his wife, née Lady Margaret Percy.[68] The Daily Mail also contends they both are descended from Sir Thomas Leighton (ca. 1530–1610), Governor of Guernsey from 1570 to 1609, and his wife Elizabeth Knollys (1549–1605), who was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I.

Royal Wedding plan today

(England Twitter)-On 4/29/2011 The Two-Way won't forget the other important stories of the day — from the devastating storms that have struck the South to the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour in the afternoon.

2 billion or so people around the world will tune in to watch, we know there's also huge interest in the wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton.

Every one also planning to draw in tweets from Monkey See's Linda Holmes, who is blogging from London.

5:45 a.m. ET: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrive at Westminster.

6 a.m. ET: Kate Middleton arrives; it should be the first glimpse we get of her dress.

6 a.m. to around 7 a.m. ET: The ceremony.

7:15 a.m. ET: The newlyweds leave Westminster. Will rain prevent them from riding in an open carriage?

8:25 a.m. ET: Prince William and Kate appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for their traditional 
First kiss.

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