Zara Tindall has been praised for her composure after an awkward blunder at the gates of Royal Asco

Zara Tindall just showed what a class act she is – Harry and Meghan would have been fuming

An awkward blunder on the gates of Royal Ascot saw the King’s niece display class and humility others could take note from.

To say Royal Ascot is full of privilege and entitlement is no understatement. It has seeped into every fibre of the event; from the morning dress worn by men in the most exclusive enclosures to the audible tuts of former private schoolboys enduring a couple of minutes of queuing.

Arriving at the event, one of the signature occasions in the aristocratic social calendar, for the first time left me with a lot to take in. The first few hours at the event was spent processing the sheer wealth on display and in part the arrogance that so often accompanies it. Witnessing such supercilious behaviour from multiple members of the British establishment, made my inadvertent encounter with Zara Tindall and her husband all the more striking.

Zara posed effortlessly for photographs before entering the event (Image: Getty)

Zara arrived without the ceremony that was to follow for her mother and uncle King Charles.

She stepped out of a people carrier to little fanfare alongside her former rugby playing husband Mike and their guests.

The pair chatted freely and warmly with acquaintances and opportunistic passers-by who wanted a moment in their presence before heading across the road to the racecourse.

However, an innocent mistake by a security guard on the gate saw Zara initially turned away, an encounter that would likely be met with contempt and rage at the insolence by many in attendance.

If ever somebody was able to play the “do you know who I am?” card, this was the occasion, but that was not the response of Zara, who seemed nonplussed and happy to follow the instruction to head to the ticket office, despite being very much entitled to enter.

It should perhaps come as no surprise to see Zara act this way, given her unique upbringing amongst the late Queen’s grandchildren which saw her mother, the Princess Royal, decline titles for her children, meaning that Zara is not a princess.

In the end, the mistake was rectified in minutes by a panicked supervisor, leaving Zara looking like the class act that her reputation suggests.

It was a display of humility that other members of the Royal Family could learn from. There was once a time when arrogance and snobbery were baked into the royals and even expected and demanded by the plebs who they ruled over.

But those days are long gone. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, accelerated by the long-running Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal, means that is no longer the case.

The British public, on the whole, respect senior royals for the good they do in society, but expect them to change and modernise.

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cling onto their “His/Her Royal Highness” (HRH) titles and demand to have their cake and eat it in America, it is hard to imagine the pair, especially Meghan, responding with such class.

But as the country demands a modern Royal Family more in touch with the realities of 21st century Britain, there is perhaps a lot to learn from the Tindalls who clearly recognise and appreciate the privilege that enjoy.

CRE: https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/2218652/zara-tindall-just-showed-what