Prince Harry has been immersed in the world of polo pretty much since he was born — from watching his father Charles play to participating in plenty of matches himself, with or without his brother William.
That’s why it seems like a great idea for him to play as much as he has been as part of his new life in Southern California.
The Duke of Sussex is part of the polo team Los Padres alongside his friend Nacho Figueras, and trains at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, close to his and Meghan Markle’s home in Montecito.
For former royal reporter Richard Mineards, who lives in Montecito, Prince Harry is a great asset to the local polo club.
“I bumped into him far more than I had ever done during the summer at my polo club because he’d been doing some sort of training to make sure he kept in [shape] for polo. He was a very good polo player — much more so than William,” Richard told Hello!‘s A Right Royal Podcast (via Express).
Richard added: “I really do think that people are accepting them [Harry and Meghan]; they 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.”
Harry also participates in the annual Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup alongside Nacho, which fundraises for Sentebale — an organisation he co-founded to help children and young people in Southern Africa dealing with poverty, HIV/AIDS or COVID-19.
As well as raising millions for the cause, the Sentebale Polo Cup also serves to raise awareness for these issues, via an exciting polo match.
Harry’s wife Meghan and Nacho’s wife Delfina Blaquier have also become fast friends in recent years, with Delfina often dedicating sweet Instagram posts to her friendship with Meghan.