The Guards Polo Club is an English polo club in Windsor, Berkshire. It was most closely associated with the British Royal Family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was President of the club from its formation on 25 January 1955 until his death in April 2021. Queen Elizabeth II was its patron. [1]
The Club is based at Smiths Lawn, in Windsor Great Park, which is thought to have been named after a game keeper at the time of the Stuart Restoration. The Club has ten polo pitches on 53 hectares (130 acres) and stables, paddocks and training facilities four miles away at Flemish Farm. The Queen and Prince Philip opened a new, purpose-built clubhouse and Royal box in front of a selection of club members at Smiths Lawn on Sunday 26 April 2009.
Under the 25-year stewardship of Commander of the Household Cavalry Colonel William Gerard Leigh (1915 - 2008) as both player and from 1955, Chairman, the Household Brigade Polo Club changed its name in 1969 to the Guards Polo Club. [2]
The club name derives from the Guards Division of the British Army. British Army Officers of the Household Division regiments, who hold the Queen/King's Commission, are exempt from the Playing Members' entrance fee, which is £22,000, in addition to the annual subscription of £5,850 (as at 2012). [3] It claims on its website to have the largest membership of any polo club in Europe, and is one of the four polo clubs in the United Kingdom that stage elite high goal tournaments; the others are the Cirencester Park, Cowdray Park and Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. [1]
The Polo Magazine called it "the most prestigious polo club in the world". [4]
The best-known day on the Guards Polo Club's calendar is the Hurlingham Polo Association's International Day (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the Cartier International). [5] Always held at the end of July, it has in the past attracted crowds of over 30,000 people. [6] [7]
The Club's playing season starts in April and finishes in mid September. The premier official tournaments are the Queen's Cup (high goal), Royal Windsor (medium goal) and the Archie David (low goal), all of which take place in June. The Club is also home to the Inter-Regimental in July, The Duke of Wellington Trophy in August and the Nations Cup in September, at which the Club's 1st V successfully competes. The Club has been in the forefront of supporting polo for the young. Through the season it holds representative matches and tournaments for the Pony Club, and for schools, universities and young players from the armed forces.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was consort of the British monarch from Elizabeth's accession on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving British royal consort.
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King Charles III. He was born 3rd in the line of succession to the British throne and is now 14th.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke of Kent. Edward's mother Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was also a first cousin of the Queen's husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, making him both a second cousin and first cousin once removed to King Charles III. He is 41st in the line of succession to the British throne.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. While it is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland Windsor and Ascot Racecourse. It is one of four boroughs entitled to be prefixed Royal and is one of six unitary authorities in the county, which has historic and ceremonial status.
The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals. These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment stationed at Wing Barracks in Wiltshire and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks in London. The Household Cavalry is part of the Household Division and is the King's official bodyguard. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment is armoured, it is not part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of 2,020 hectares, including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private 265 hectares Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century. Historically the park covered an area many times the current size known as Windsor Forest, Windsor Royal Park or its current name. The park is managed and funded by the Crown Estate, and is the only royal park not managed by The Royal Parks. Most parts of the park are open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dusk, although there is a charge to enter Savill Garden.
Sunninghill Park was a country house and estate of about 665 acres directly north of Cheapside, in the civil parishes of Sunninghill and Ascot and Winkfield, adjoining Windsor Great Park in the English county of Berkshire.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army tasked primarily with ceremonial duties. Part of the Household Division, it is classed as a regiment of guards, and carries out mounted ceremonial duties on State and Royal occasions. The HCMR is one of two operational units that form the Household Cavalry (HCav), the other being the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR), a formation reconnaissance regiment, with front-line combat duties.
The Home Park, previously known as the Little Park, is a private 655-acre (265 ha) Royal park, administered by the Crown Estate of the United Kingdom. It lies on the eastern side of Windsor Castle in the town and former civil parish of Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. To its south is Windsor Great Park.
Facundo Pieres Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province is a professional Argentine polo player with a 10 goal handicap. In October 2022, he was ranked number one by the World Polo Tour, but fell to number two, behind Adolfo Cambiaso, in early 2023.
Colonel David de Crespigny Smiley, was a British special forces and intelligence officer. He fought in the Second World War in Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Syria, the Western Desert and with Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Albania and Thailand.
The Dubai Polo Team is one of the most successful polo teams of all time, playing at the highest level globally. The Dubai Polo Team has bases in UK, Spain, USA, Argentina and Dubai.
Colonel William Henry Gerard Leigh CVO, CBE more commonly known as G, was a British veteran of the Life Guards during World War II. He rose to become a major figure in polo world. He served as the chairman of the Guards Polo Club from 1955 to 1981. Gerard Leigh achieved some fame in 1971 when he stopped a stray polo ball from possibly hitting Queen Elizabeth II at a polo match.
The sport of polo is played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club is a polo club located near Windsor, Berkshire and home to the Prince of Wales tournament - one of the most coveted high goal trophies in Polo. It is set in a 230-acre estate, one mile from Ascot Racecourse, and comprises six polo fields, an arena, clubhouse and a polo school. The club is also home to The Arena Gold Cup, the most prestigious winter season tournament and The Arena Polo Masters, currently the highest goal game played in the winter.
The Cartier Queen's Cup is a 22-goal polo tournament at the Guards Polo Club in England. Named after Queen Elizabeth II, it is held annually in May–June. According to Country Life, it is the "jewel in the polo calendar" and it "encapsulates the best of the British season."
The British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup is an annual polo tournament held at Cowdray Park, West Sussex, England.
Josh Cork is an English professional polo player. He is currently ranked number 256 in the world.
The 2022 Trooping the Colour ceremony was held on Thursday 2 June 2022, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. Over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians came together in the traditional parade to mark the Queen's Official Birthday, which usually takes place on the second Saturday of June. It was the final Birthday Parade to take place under the reign of Elizabeth II before her death on 8 September later that year.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
