More people are interested in polo than ever before, thanks to Prince Harry’s involvement in the competitive sport.
King Charles III’s second son has been causing a stir on the polo scene in California, after moving to the US with his wife Meghan Markle in 2020.
The Duke of Sussex joined polo team Los Padres, which trains at the Santa Barbara Polo Club in Montecito, where he now resides.
Also part of the prestigious horse polo team is renowned polo player Nacho Figueras, a close friend of Prince Harry’s.
Royal reporter Richard Mineards told Hello!’s A Right Royal Podcast: “[People] love watching Harry play polo. And it did wonders for the Polo Club because spectator numbers soared – merely to see His Royal Highness going through the paces with Nacho.”
Mineards even praised the Duke’s polo skills, saying: “He was a very good polo player – much more so than William.”
As well as playing for the Santa Barbara Polo Club, Prince Harry takes part in the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup, raising money and awareness for children in Botswana and Lesotho facing poverty and disease.
He set up the organisation to provide young people better access to health services, care and support, as well as give them more opportunities to become self-sufficient. In 2021, Sentebale raised £3.13 million, which went towards distributing 83,000 condoms and providing sexual health and rights education for 27,000 young people.
The Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup alone has raised £10 million over the last decade for the charity.