Zara & Mike Tindall Make Money Off Their Royal Status, Too

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Zara Phillips leave after attending the National Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen's reign at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022 as part of Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations. - Queen Elizabeth II kicked off the first of four days of celebrations marking her record-breaking 70 years on the throne, to cheering crowds of tens of thousands of people. But the 96-year-old sovereign's appearance at the Platinum Jubilee -- a milestone never previously reached by a British monarch -- took its toll, forcing her to pull out of a planned church service. — (Image credit: Photo by Daniel Leal / Getty)

Whatever the haters say, when it comes to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the double standards are glaring.

Just as they were incomprehensibly criticized for holding hands during a service for the late Queen, although Zara and Mike Tindall made the same gesture without anyone caring, the Sussexes aren't the only royals who use their prestigious status to make money—yet they are the only ones to receive any flak for it. I wonder why!!!

Royal reporter Omid Scobie was also wondering why, so he explored the matter in his latest Yahoo! column.

Scobie reports that in recent weeks, Zara Tindall appeared in a publicity campaign for a brand for which she's an ambassador, and for which she's allegedly making some £500,000 ($570,000).

As for Zara's husband Mike, it was recently confirmed that he would be appearing on British reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, which is hardly something you'd see a—say—Prince William or even a Princess Eugenie participating in. Mike could make up to £500,000 for his trouble.

The Tindalls are no strangers to brand deals, and they make far more money than they would were they simply athletes with no royal connections, Scobie points out. (Zara is an equestrian, while Mike is a former rugby player.)

A criticism that is often leveled at the Sussexes in particular is that they, unlike the Tindalls, have royal titles, but those same critics are oddly nonchalant about royal protocol when it comes to literally anyone else in the family.

Scobie also points out that, for example, Sarah, Duchess of York, has made money off of her daughter Princess Eugenie's wedding—and the clue's in their names: Both women have royal titles. Hmmm!

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.