Polo
Polo
For almost all of his adult life, The Prince of Wales has been a keen and competitive polo player.
The Prince of Wales became interested in polo as a child, watching his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, play at Windsor.
In his early teens His Royal Highness played practice chukkas (a period of time in polo) at Windsor during the school holidays.
The Prince played his first game in 1963 aged 15, in a team captained by The Duke of Edinburgh and he played his first game in public in April 1964.
From then on The Prince played as regularly as he could manage, playing his first season of first class games in 1967.
His Royal Highness's handicap rose gradually from 1 in 1967 to 4 in 1982.
The main grounds on which The Prince played were Smith's Lawn in Windsor Great Park, Cowdray Park in Sussex and Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire.
His Royal Highness also played polo during visits to countries including Australia, India, the USA, France, Brazil, Kenya, Malta and Ghana.
The Prince played in many teams, including Cambridge University whilst an undergraduate, when he won his half-Blue playing against Oxford, for the Royal Navy, and in more recent years with Les Diables Bleus and the Maple Leaf.
The Prince often played with Prince William and Prince Harry in the Highgrove team. His Royal Highness played in all four positions, but usually at No 4 (back).
For many years The Prince has only played polo to raise money for charity. For example during the year 2005 - 2006, he raised £900,000 taking the total over the previous 11 years to £8.4 million.
On 28th June 1990, The Prince broke his arm in two places when he fell from his pony during a match at Cirencester Park. His Royal Highness was able to return to the game the following April and played regularly up until his decision to retire in November 2005.
The Prince maintains his interest in polo and follows the sport through his two sons' continued participation.