SINGAPORE - Britain's Prince Harry followed in the footsteps of his father, Prince Charles, and grandfather, Prince Philip, by playing polo at the Singapore Polo Club on Monday (June 5) evening.
The British royal concluded a two-day trip to the Republic with a game to raise funds for Sentebale, a charity for young people living with and affected by HIV in southern Africa. It was set up by the 32-year-old prince and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso in 2006.
The game was watched by 300 guests dressed in their finest amid a huge media scrum. Celebrities in attendance included actresses Gemma Chan (Dr Who), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey).
Prince Charles had played at the club along Mount Pleasant Road in 1974 while Prince Philip had done so nine years earlier.
Before the game, a minute's silence was observed in remembrance of the victims of the terror attacks on London on Sunday.
Traditionally, the No. 2 and No. 3 shirts are worn by the strongest players in a four-man team. And Prince Harry showed why he was clad in the No. 2 shirt as he scored two goals for his Sentebale ISPS Handa team as they beat a St. Regis side 5-2 to lift the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup.
The game was played over four chukkas (periods) of seven minutes each.
Prince Harry, a former England youth player, scored his goals in each of the final two chukkas, charging clear of the melee before guiding the ball between the posts. And after the final whistle, he did not forget the pony that carried him to victory as he stroked and patted it in appreciation.
Although the ginger-haired prince was the centre of attention, Argentinian player Nacho Figueras played to the gallery, too. The dashing 40-year-old, who also models for Ralph Lauren, twirled his mallet and whooped to get the fans cheering.
On Sunday, Prince Harry was at Eden Hall, the British High Commissioner's official residence, to watch a volunteer get tested for HIV at non-governmental organisation Action For Aids mobile testing van. He later took part in an iftar - the breaking of fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan - with 80 young Singaporeans at the Jamiyah Children's Home in Guillemard Crescent.
He will leave for Sydney on Tuesday (June 6) to promote the 2018 edition of the Invictus Games, a sports meet created by him for injured and sick service personnel around the world.
