Mike Tindall is one of the few people who has a front-row view of royal life.

The former England rugby star married into the royal family over 13 years ago when he married Zara Tindall, daughter of Princess Anne and granddaughter of the late Queen.

This unique position has given him a seat at major royal events, but unlike some royal relatives, he and Zara do not have the obligations of ‘working royals’.

Instead, they have the freedom to pursue their own careers, with Mike hosting a popular rugby podcast, representing several brands and even competing in the ITV series I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! where he offered glimpses of his royal connections.

Now, in his new book, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby – Unleashed, written with his podcast partners Alex Payne and James Haskell, Mike talks about his life with the royal family and sets the record straight on rumors of his wealth and gives insight into the the hard-working lives of senior royals such as King Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and his mother-in-law, Princess Anne.

“People think that working members of the royal family get up every day, shake a few hands, cut the odd ribbon and not much else,” he writes.

“But now I’ve seen behind the curtain, I know there’s a lot more to it than that. Being a working member of the royal family is all-consuming; you don’t have your own time or your own space. With Us Sitting Outside the Working Royals it allows us to do things our way, which works better for us.”

Mike admits the frustration of knowing the reality of royal duties when public perception often doesn’t match. Still, he says he’s learned to let it go, citing the family’s unofficial motto: “Never explain, never complain.” He adds, “I try not to think about it, even though it took me a long time to get to that point.”