Harry’s polo club chairman gets a blast from the past

THE turf is flying at Ham Polo Club, where, in happier times, Princes William and Harry have enjoyed high‑class sport.

Already plagued by banners placed at its entrance (as I disclosed yesterday) alleging that the club is run by ‘vindictive bullies’, it now threatens to become the battleground between the current chairman, Howard Davis, and his predecessor, Nicholas Colquhoun‑Denvers, 70, over who is to blame for a massive operating loss of £330,000 in the last financial year.

In a blistering letter to Davis, Colquhoun‑Denvers says ‘ there appears to be an unacceptable strategy to deflect attention from the fact that the 2018 annual accounts will not reflect well on your administration’, adding that the alleged ploy is ‘ both ill‑conceived and unacceptable’.

In the same letter he defends his wife, Annie, who produced the club magazine. ‘ I believe that your comments with regards to “investigating” Annie’s involvement at the club were unworthy of someone who holds the post of Chairman.’

The club declines to comment but Colquhoun‑Denvers, erstwhile President of the Federation of International Polo, the sport’s global governing body, evidently has his supporters. ‘ In 25 years, the club never had a year‑end with an operating loss,’ says one, ‘ apart from the year of foot‑and‑mouth, when it was approximately £8,000.’