As Prince William continues to support both his father King Charles and his wife Kate, Princess Of Wales in their respective cancer battles, the future-monarch has amped up his duties in order to help take the strain off his poorly family.

Yet while a busy schedule of royal engagements, doting dad duties and charitable commitments continues to keep the Prince occupied, one huge source of support that has helped to lessen the strain is his cousin Zara Tindall.

Ever since infancy the pair have always been close, with one insider even likening their relationship to the “big sister William never had.”

Both the Prince and Zara, who is the daughter of Princess Anne and ex-husband Captain Mark Phillips, grew up alongside each other, and through much of their childhood were virtually inseparable, often attending many similar events together along with their respective siblings Prince Harry and Peter Phillips.

But following the shocking cancer news earlier this year which rocked the royal family, William was able to lean on Zara more than ever, something that has been a “huge help” to the Prince at such a difficult time.

“[Zara is] also very close to Charles and has been a huge help to both him and William during his awful year,” an insider told Us Weekly.

In addition, as a prominent fixture at many high profile events this Summer, Zara has also had the added bonus of being adored by the public, something which has helped to lessen the strain of a reduced number of working royals.

They added: “Zara has been a breath of fresh air. She’s loved by the public as she’s fun and unpretentious.”

Unlike her cousin, Zara and her brother Phillip don’t have HRH titles, as their mother Princess Anne wanted them to live as normal a life as possible.

Even despite a formal royal title however, Zara has earned a celebrity status all of her own, as a decorated Equestrian rider that even competed in the 2012 London Olympics.

Zara’s husband, rugby legend Mike Tindall also shares a special bond with William, with the pair having bonded over their shared love of sport on numerous occasions. Clearly sharing a similar sense of humour, Mike even revealed he had given William a cheeky nickname, much to his amusement.

Opening up about the name on an episode of the BBC’s “Total Sports” podcast last December, Mike told listeners: The Prince of Wales is known to me as ‘One Pint Willy’ because he’s not the best of drinkers.”

“[I am] coming from a sport where it is built on the social aspect and a couple of beers being sunk quite often. That is one I will definitely give away for the Prince of Wales. ‘One Pint Willy.’ It’s out there now. Sorry, sir!”

It isn’t just sport that has helped the pair bond either, as just last month Zara and Mike, along with their children joined Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Taylor Swift’s Eras Concert in London! 

William also previously gave his blessing to Mike to take part in 2022’s series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, showing a clear sense of trust in the retired athlete to not accidentally divulge any royal tidbits he shouldn’t do.