Where Are Mike and Zara Tindall? Couple Allegedly Depart UK for France Amid Andrew Arrest Scandal

Britain is having one of those weeks where the royal news feels less like a diary and more like a siren. So of course the one pair with the good sense to be photographed in snow, not scandal, is Zara and Mike Tindall.​

For a straightforward update, it is this: Zara and Mike Tindall reportedly left the UK with their three children during the February half-term and travelled to France for a ski break, with Mike sharing videos from the trip on Instagram. The timing has inevitably been viewed against the continuing fallout from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office and his subsequent release under investigation.

Where Are Mike and Zara Tindall While Headlines Burn

The Express said the couple traveled with Mia, 12, Lena, 7, and Lucas, 4, taking advantage of the school holiday to be together. It described Mike, 47, bundled up in a black winter coat and a woolly blue hat in two videos shared from the slopes.​

No, there is no evidence they fled the country in a panic, and it would be silly to pretend every family vacation is a coded statement. But it is equally silly to pretend optics do not matter when the wider family brand is currently being dragged through mud that will not wash out.

For international readers, UK half-term is a short school break that turns airports into endurance tests and ski resorts into temporary British colonies. France is the obvious choice, close enough to be convenient, familiar enough to be almost boring, which is exactly what you want when your surname is royal-adjacent and the front pages are a mess.​

Where Are Mike and Zara Tindall When Andrew's Arrest Dominates

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and later released under investigation, which means he has not been charged and the police inquiry continues. Sky News reported the arrest and said he was released under investigation, noting the extraordinary nature of a senior royal figure being taken into custody in modern times.

Against that backdrop, it is hard not to see why a non-working royal couple might decide this is the moment to be photographed doing something aggressively normal. The Tindalls do not take public money for royal duties, they do not stand on palace balconies on command, and they rarely act as if their lives should be paused for someone else's catastrophe.

That instinct is not new. The Express noted the family's love of skiing and said they had enjoyed a trip to Austria just before Christmas with Zara's brother, Peter Phillips.

Their travel calendar has also looked more like a sports and social circuit than a court schedule, including recent trips to Australia and the United States.​

Zara's Australian connection is particularly well established in the horse world. Her official website describes a 'successful trip' to the Magic Millions Gold Coast Carnival and notes her long-running involvement as the Magic Millions Racing Women Ambassador. The Express reported Zara previously described Australia as being like 'a home from home for us,' and quoted Mike, when asked about a potential permanent move in 2023, as saying, 'never say never.'

Stateside, the couple's Texas stop has been treated as a charming sideshow to bigger stories. CultureMap reported Zara and Mike were spotted at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, posing for photos on the venue's mechanical bull. It is a vivid image, part cowtown cosplay, part reminder that the Tindalls' currency has always been relatability rather than reverence.​

Even Zara's solo Valentine's week headline fits that pattern. The Thoroughbred Daily News reported she was appointed patron of Retraining of Racehorses, the UK charity dedicated to the welfare and retraining of retired racehorses. The Express said she attended the Saudi Cup in Riyadh around Valentine's Day in that capacity.

So where are Mike and Zara Tindall, really. According to the reporting, in France, on skis, posting winter clips while the UK argues about a far darker set of images and what they mean.