While much of England has been absorbed by the football in recent days as England prepared to face Italy in the European Championships final at Wembley, Her Majesty the Queen was pursuing different sporting interests.
Famous for her love of all things equine, the queen was decked out in a lime green outfit as she attended the Royal Windsor Cup at the Guards Polo Club. This left Prince William, who is chairman of the Football Association and a keen football fan, to perform royal duties at Wembley.
The monarch and the other spectators were treated to a final every bit as close and exciting as the football, which was decided on penalties in favour of Italy. The climax of the tournament saw Emlor Red edge past the Bardon Polo Team 8.5-8.
It was a thrilling end to a tournament that had featured lots of great matches and excellent play by a number of fine teams.
In the semi-finals, Bardon had beaten Four Quarters by 12-6.5, while Emlor Red had beaten Ainsley Saddlery 8-5. Bardon’s win was one of three occasions in the tournament when they had scored 12 times, although the highest team score in the tournament came during the league phase, when Black Bears scored 13 against Sujan Indian Tigers.
The Royal Windsor Cup wasn’t the only tournament reaching its climax at the Guards Club last Sunday, as the final of the Mountbatten Cup took place in the morning. Green Gates took the silverware by beating Twelve Oaks 8-6.
While Prince William may have been at Wembley instead of Windsor last Sunday, he did make an appearance last week at Windsor Great Park in a charity match.
The future king, who donned his familiar blue and white playing kit, was taking to the saddle for the first time in public since 2019 for a game that raised funds for a range of charities he supports.
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