Princess Anne has asked her future son-in-law, Mike Tindall, to have his nose straightened before he weds her daughter, Zara Phillips, in July.
The English rugby player is due to marry Queen Elizabeth’s eldest granddaughter in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 30.
Princess Anne is said to adore Mike but is concerned his nose, which has been broken eight times in his 12-year rugby career, will ruin her daughter’s wedding pictures.
Mike reportedly told producers on the set of British sports quiz show A League of their Own that his future mother-in-law has asked if he would have surgery to correct the feature before the nuptials, the UK’s News of the World reported.
“Princess Anne asked me if I’d have the surgery,” he reportedly said. “She’s a bit worried about how the wedding photos might turn out!”
Mike had corrective surgery on his nose earlier in his career and said he was “unlikely” to go under the knife again.
“The last time I had surgery I had two metal plates inserted up my nose to keep it straight,” Mike said. “The very next game I was playing one of [the opposition] put in a high tackle and, crunch! The metal plates popped out onto the pitch. I’m not keen to do it again.”
Related: Kate Middleton to wear Alexander McQueen wedding dress?
Mike, 32, and Zara, 29, have been together since her cousin Prince Harry introduced them at a bar in Sydney in 2002. They announced their engagement in January, two months after her other cousin, Prince William, announced his engagement to Kate Middleton.
William and Kate will marry at Westminster Abbey on April 29, three months before Mike and Zara.
Your say: Do you think Anne overstepped the mark asking Mike to have his nose straightened? Would you consider asking your child’s partner the same thing?
Video: Prince William and Kate Middleton visit their old university