Harry to play polo matches over jubilee weekend
Duke fails to provide any indication he will attend Queen’s celebrations that clash with his tournament
THE Duke of Sussex is to play a full season of polo in California, with dates scheduled for over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.
The Duke is expected to play for the Los Padres polo team in a tournament running from June 3 to 19.
The decision suggests that he is not planning to attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, although it is possible he could still attend key events if his sporting schedule allows.
A spokesman for the Duke has not yet confirmed or denied that the polo matches rule him out of his grandmother’s celebrations. He is not known to have shared his plans with the palace.
The jubilee bank holiday runs from Thursday June 2 to Sunday June 5, with appearances from the Royal family expected on the Buckingham Palace balcony at either end of the festivities.
Polo matches are played on Friday and Sunday afternoons in Santa Barbara. Technically, the Duke could return to Britain for Trooping the Colour, which is held on the Thursday, although he has so far given no public indication he wishes to do so.
The Duke has previously said he is unable to return to Britain with his family safely unless his security arrangements are changed. But the Sussexes would have full security at jubilee events, along with the rest of the Royal family.
He and the Duchess last month made a brief visit to Windsor Castle to see the Queen before they flew to the Invictus Games in The Hague.
Any decision to miss his grandmother’s jubilee, a celebration of her 70 years on the throne, for a polo match is sure to cause fury among the Duke’s critics.
Confirmation that he would play the full 12-goal polo season at Santa Barbara came via Clickpolo, the online magazine.
He plays as part of the newly formed Los
‘I guess the Sussexes have made up their minds about attending the Platinum Jubilee events’
Padres team with friend Nacho Figueras and two 16-year-old players. The team is named for a local national forest and in honour of Harry’s role as father to Archie and Lilibet. The team won their first match 17-10.
Figueras said: “We decided to play in Santa Barbara because Harry lives here. We came up with the idea to be able to use our team for charitable purposes.”
After seeing the polo dates announced, one royal watcher said online: “The Cheval Athletics USPA Intra-circuit [from June 3 to 19] starts the same weekend as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Events, so I guess the Sussexes have made up their minds about attending that.”
But Omid Scobie, co-author of the Sussexes’ biography Finding Freedom, who had shared the polo update with his 80,000 followers, said: “For clarity, these are simply the listed dates of the tournaments, not the dates of their matches. Don’t read into it too much!” Plans for the jubilee have been in the diary for months, but the Royal family’s attendance has not yet been confirmed at individual events.
The Queen, 96, hopes to attend as much as is sensible with her limited mobility, with potential appearances at Trooping the Colour, the St Paul’s Cathedral service of thanksgiving and the end of the Sunday afternoon pageant.
In an interview with US breakfast television during the Invictus Games, the Duke said he was trying to bring his children to meet the Queen, but cited security problems that might make it too difficult for them to attend the Platinum Jubilee.
When asked whether he would attend, he said: “I don’t know yet... There’s lots of things, security issues and everything else. So this is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her [the Queen].” The Duke is currently in a legal battle with the Home Office, arguing that he requires tighter security arrangements to be safe in the UK.