Mike Tindall doesn't want his daughter to go to boarding school.

Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips

Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips

The retired rugby star - who is married to Zara Phillips, the daughter of Princess Anne - is keen for their two-year-old daughter Mia to stay close to home.

He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I know many people who say boarding was the making of them because they forged great independence from their parents, but I don't really want her to be distanced from us.

"My school was a public one and plenty of my mates lived in, but I was just a day student and it definitely didn't do me any harm. If anything, I enjoyed the best of both worlds. Personally, I'd rather she attend a school that's nearby, where we'll always be onhand if she needs us. Anything else goes against my instincts."

And Mike wants to make sure that his daughter Mia never has to be "scared of anything".

He said previously: "I don't want her to be scared of anything. There's a line from a Will Smith movie 'After Earth', 'Fear is a choice.' I like that concept because if you choose not to be scared of things, you can achieve a lot more.

"She's definitely inherited the robust side of both her mum and her dad. But that's exactly how Zara and I want her to be; that's how we grew up. We just get on with things and she definitely does that, too.

"She loves being outside and is full of life. One of her favourite adventures is sitting in the cockpit of a tractor and playing with all the buttons. Who knows? Maybe she'll grow up to be a farmer."