Princess Anne is a ‘much more submissive figure’ around Zara Tindall, expert claims

Zara Tindall, 42, is a professional equestrian and took part in the Magic Millions Festival today at her mother’s home, Gatcombe Park.

Princess Anne, 72, stood by and watched her only daughter on top of a horse completing her dressage test.

Judi James, a professional body language expert, spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk to explain the relationship between Zara, her mother and her stepfather, Timothy Laurence.

She claimed: “This is an interesting family dynamic and possibly a surprising one, too. Princess Anne has always looked like a very dominant, alpha figure in the royal Firm.

“But in a family unit setting, she actually seems to adopt the body language pose of a much more submissive figure.”

This “submissive” body language from the Princess Royal is impacted by whether or not she is around her daughter, the body language expert claimed.

Judi added: “Anne allows her daughter Zara to dominate with some emphatic status signals while she stands with her hands clasped behind her back, listening but not challenging.

“Zara’s splaying and pointing rituals suggest she is in charge here and mother Anne looks happy to be compliant.”

Princess Anne tied the knot with her second husband Timothy Laurence on December 12, 1992, therefore he is a stepfather to Anne’s children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall.

Timothy, 68, accompanied his wife to Gatcombe Park today whilst Zara was completing her dressage test at the Magic Millions Festival.

Judi continued: “It’s rare to see any body language signals between Anne and her husband Timothy.

“But in these family poses, Anne seems to take a lower-status role while Tim is much more active as he listens and apparently questions his stepdaughter.

“The family format seems to work for all three of them, with some very relaxed and upbeat-looking body language suggesting some strong bonds that are shared between them.”

Peter Phillips’s children, whom he shares with his ex-wife Autumn Phillips, attended the Magic Millions Festival today.

Savannah, 12, and Isla, 11, were photographed eating ice cream cones and partaking in the fairground games.

Their cousins, Mia Tindall, nine, and Lena Tindall, five, the eldest children of Zara and Mike Tindall, were also pictured in the fairground games.

Zara and Mike have a third child, Lucas, who celebrated his second birthday earlier this year.