Sussex Squad: Yay, Prince Harry will play polo in Singapore! Me: Someone please tell me about the logistics of transporting polo ponies to Singapore?? That’s basically where I am. There were rumors and reports of this months ago, but now it’s been confirmed: Prince Harry and his real brother Nacho Figueras are headed to Singapore next week to play a polo match for Sentebale, which is the Lesotho charity founded by Harry when he was a teenager. Will they use polo ponies in Singapore or are they transporting Nacho’s polo ponies halfway across the world???

Prince Harry will travel to Singapore to take part in Sentebale’s annual charity polo match next month, the organisation has announced. The Duke of Sussex, 38, co-founded Sentebale in 2006 to help vulnerable children in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi, including those who are affected by extreme poverty and the HIV/Aids epidemic.

This morning, the charity’s Instagram account – which boosts 28,900 followers – revealed details of this year’s event and the royal’s plans to also take part in a summit in Tokyo.

A statement read: ‘Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Co-Founding Patron of Sentebale, will play in the 2023 Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup at Singapore Polo Club on the 12th of August.’

The Duke of Sussex said: ‘The annual Polo Cup is essential to Sentebale’s vital work ensuring children and young people are healthy, resilient, and able to thrive. The funds raised this year will support our Clubs and Camps programme, which provides intensive psychosocial support to young people living with HIV. In a time where being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence, we are empowering young people to know their status, stay healthy, and eliminate the stigma so that they can break the cycle.’

‘We are delighted to return to the renowned Singapore Polo Club in August, and are once again enormously grateful for the polo community and our sponsors, in particular ISPS Handa, for their ongoing commitment to Lesotho and Botswana’s youth.’

Prince Harry will head up the Royal Salute Sentebale Team while Argentinian player Nacho Figueras – who is also a Sentebale ambassador – will play for the Singapore Polo Club team. The organisation also announced that Prince Harry and Nacho will take part in a summit discussing the power of sport, community and philanthropy in Tokyo the day before the match.

They added: ‘Prior to travelling to Singapore, both will participate in a summit on the power of sport, community and philanthropy at the ISPS Sports Values Summit-Special Edition in Tokyo, Japan on the 9th August.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I remember this trip coming up when Prince William announced that Earthshot would be going to Singapore this year – like, people knew that Harry was heading to Singapore to play polo for charity already. The stuff about his stop in Japan is new though. How long before William announces that he will ALSO stop by Japan on his way to Singapore for Earthshot? LOL. I hope Harry really enjoys himself and does a lot of events in Japan and Singapore. There will be so many wails from Salt Island either way. Also: the next few months should be busy for the Sussexes, Harry especially. He’s got this trip, he’s got Heart of Invictus (on Netflix) and he’s got the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf in September. I hope this is a bright new Sussex era!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.