ROYAL CHUKKAS

Almost exactly a month after this publication goes to press, His Majesty King Charles III will be crowned in Westminster Abbey. So what better time to recall our new Monarch’s many polo achievements here at Guards Polo Club

HIS MAJESTY FIRST PLAYED PRACTICE matches at the Club as a 15-year-old boy in 1964, supervised by his father and the Club’s Founder, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. What followed was a hugely successful four decades of polo, registering success in some of the sport’s top trophies.

A highlight of His Majesty’s polo career is, without doubt, winning the high-goal Queen’s Cup, the first member of the Royal Family to win this trophy. By now playing off a four-goal handicap, His Majesty was a member of Guy Wildenstein’s Les Diables Bleus team. This quartet – Daniel Wildenstein,

Rodrigo Vial, Memo Gracida, HRH

The Prince of Wales – beat Antony Embiricos’s Tramontana, also featuring Jesus (Chuey) Baez, Carlos Gracida and Martin Brown, 9-8 in extra time in the 1986 final.

Major Willie Loyd, Guards Polo Club’s Polo Manager and regular polo correspondent, wrote the following in Horse & Hound on this 1986 final: “The most exciting finals day in the history of the high-goal tournament.”

This victory was the culmination of an almost decade-long partnership that His Majesty had with the Les Diables Bleus polo team that had started in Deauville in 1977, playing in the French Polo Championships. Guy’s team remained competitive at the top level of the game for the next nine years, reaching the final stages of the UK’s top polo tournaments including the British Open ( cont’d.)

( cont’d.) at Cowdray and the Warwickshire at Cirencester.

Throughout this time His Majesty also regularly appeared on International Day at Smith’s Lawn. His Majesty first played for the Young England team before competing with his own HRH Team in these competitive and fast-paced international matches. More recently His Majesty has occasionally presented the prizes on this day, continuing to take a keen interest in the games and watching with an experienced eye from the Royal Box.

The Monarch also has his name on another prestigious Club trophy. His Majesty steered the Windsor Park team to victory in the Royal Windsor Cup in 1984 and then recorded a second success when playing for Galen Weston’s Maple Leafs team in 1993.

Other regular appearances for His Majesty include playing on Varsity Day, donning a Cambridge shirt in the annual Old Blues match. Meanwhile His Majesty would also regularly turn out for the Royal Navy in the inter regimental battles at Tidworth when time allowed.

More recently the Club has been fortunate to have both His Majesty and HRH The Prince of Wales take to the field on Gulf Co-Operation Council Day. This match was traditionally played on the Wednesday of Royal Ascot Week and regularly featured the Highgrove team.

Although His Majesty hung up his sticks in 2005, at the age of 57, his new role as Head Ranger of Windsor Great Park ensures that the Monarch continues to stay up-to-date with all that happens at Guards Polo Club. His Majesty King Charles lll has always been at the heart of this Club and continues to be so as the Club heads into its 68th season. ✸