Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry Royal Salute Polo Challenge event in Wellington, Florida, which raised money for the charity Sentebale. Photo / AP
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry Royal Salute Polo Challenge event in Wellington, Florida, which raised money for the charity Sentebale. Photo / AP
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared a kiss for the cameras after Prince Harry played in a charity polo match in Florida today.
The pair were spotted smiling and walking hand in hand – the Duke wore white trousers, a light blue shirt and a beige jacket, while the Duchess sported a cream halterneck dress at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge event in Wellington.
The Sentebale Polo Cup is held every year in aid of Sentebale, the charity Harry co-founded in 2006 that supports young people and children living in southern Africa.
The Duke captained the Royal Salute Sentebale team against the Grand Champions, led by his friend Argentinian polo player Nacho Figueras.
Harry was seen playing in the match and sporting his team’s blue and white colours while wearing the number two on his sleeve.
His team won the match 3-1 with the Duke managing to score the opening goal, according to the Associated Press.
Argentine professional polo player Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras (left) and his wife Delfina Blaquier with the Duchess and Duke of Sussex at a polo competition in Wellington, Florida. Photo / AP
Figueras told reporters at the event that he and Harry “joke a lot about who is going to win” and said the Duke is “a very good rider”.
“He’s a very good athlete, he has great eye-hand coordination. He’s very competitive. He’s a very good polo player,” he said.
Harry’s team won both games in front of the around 300 spectators meaning he received the trophy for winning the mini-tournament and received a kiss on the cheek from Meghan when accepting the award.
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry arrive for the 2024 Royal Salute Polo Challenge to Benefit Sentebale. Photo / AP
Sussexes to bring polo to Netflix
The polo set, wrote Jilly Cooper, were “ritzy, wild, and gloriously promiscuous”, with her 1991 bestseller Polo cementing the sport as the epitome of high society glamour.
More than 30 years on, as a new generation swaps novels for Netflix, the reputation of polo is to get a new lease of life – led by none other than Prince Harry.
The Duke of Sussex is to bring the “sport of kings” to the Netflix-watching masses, promising to “pull the curtain back” on the “grit and passion” of the sport he has played all his adult life.
The programme’s showrunner, Milos Balac, is known for Welcome to Wrexham, the award-winning documentary series which tracked the fortunes of the local football club under its new Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras (left) and Prince Harry are good friends and are seen here playing polo on Governors Island, New York, in 2009. Photo / Getty Images
With the help of Prince Harry, Balac is now set to rejuvenate the world of professional polo with the new show, filmed at the US Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida.
It will feature Prince Harry on horseback, as well as Figueras.
Ahead of the Sentebale charity polo match in Florida, the Duke joined a panel for a speaking event about “Health, Wealth Inequity, and Climate Challenges Facing Youth in Africa”.
He told an audience: “Africa’s in my heart, and Africa’s in my soul... I wanted to give back to it because it had given me so much.”
Nacho Figueras and Prince Harry pose for the cameras at the charity tournament in Florida today. Photo / Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have recently become a fixture on the American polo scene, often photographed with Figueras and his wife Delphina.
Other members of the royal family, including the young Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Prince William, are skilled in the sport and have regularly raised money for charity in high-profile exhibition matches.
The polo fields have played a significant part in modern royal history.
The King and Queen, then the young Prince Charles and Camilla Shand, were famously photographed in conversation at the polo in Great Windsor Park several times in the 1970s, before each married, in an era where the sport was central to the social scene.
The relationship between Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, was scrutinised heavily through their many appearances at the polo, with Princes William and Harry growing up on the field.
Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles resting after a polo match, circa 1972. Photo / Getty Images
In 2017, Meghan watched Prince Harry play at Cowarth Park in a sign of the growing seriousness of their relationship. In 2018 she presented a trophy to her new husband, kissing him in front of the cameras.
The new Netflix programme will be made by production company Boardwalk Pictures, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex among the executive producers.
Another programme announced by Archewell Productions features the Duchess of Sussex and will “celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining, and friendship”.
Its showrunner Leah Hariton is best known for Selena + Chef, in which pop star Selena Gomez learned from a guest professional chef in each episode.
It will be directed by Michael Steed, who has previously worked on David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Both series boasted a roster of A-list guests, including former US president Barack Obama.
The at-home-style cookery show is expected to tie in with Meghan’s new American Riviera Orchard brand.
Both shows are in the early stages of production, with their titles and release dates due to be announced in the coming months.
