Prince Harry could end up missing the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations as he’s down to play a full season of polo in California.
The Duke of Sussex’s sporting commitments are said to overlap with the bank holiday weekend marking his grandmother’s 70 years on the throne.
He is set to play for the Los Padres Polo team in a tournament running from June 3 to 19, suggesting he’ll miss the special occasion.
Omid Scobie, co-author of Harry and Meghan Markle’s biography Finding Freedom, also said the Duke will play contests running May 6 to 15 and May 20 to 29.
A spokesman for Harry has neither confirmed nor denied that the polo matches will mean he can’t be in the UK for the Jubilee bank holiday weekend – running June 2 to 5.
It is also not known whether the duke has shared his plans in California with members of the Royal Family.
In the Sussex’s home of Santa Barbara, polo matches are usually played on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
This means the duke could return to the UK for Trooping the Colour, which is held on the Thursday, the Telegraph reports.
But Harry has given no indication that he wishes to do so, and he is still in the midst of a legal battle with the Home Office over a lack of police protection.
The has launched a High Court challenge, claiming it is now too dangerous to take his children to his home country.
Harry and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection after quitting as senior working royals in early 2020.
But they would receive full security at Jubilee events along with the rest of the Royal Family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a secret trip to the UK in April to meet the Queen before attending the Invictus Games in The Hague – where they received protection from Dutch police.
Harry plays in the newly formed Los Padres team with friend Nacho Figueras and two 16-year-old players.
It is named after a local national forest and in honour of Harry’s fatherhood of Archie and Lilibet.
‘We decided to play in Santa Barbara because Harry lives here,’ said Figueras. ‘We came up with the idea to be able to use our team for charitable purposes.’
News that Harry would play a full 12-goal polo season emerged via online magazine Clickpolo.
But after sharing the update on Twitter, Scobie, a friend of the Sussexes, wrote: ‘For clarity, these are simply the listed dates of the tournaments, not the dates of their matches. Don’t read into it too much!’
Royal family appearances are expected on the Buckingham Palace balcony at either end of the Jubilee bank holiday celebrations.
But the Queen appearing on the balcony to mark the finale of the festivities is ‘by no means guaranteed’, a source told the Mail On Sunday.
On Thursday, June 2, the day before Harry’s tournament is due to start, a parade will take place, to honour the monarch’s birthday.
Members of the Royal Family will join 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians.
They will parade down The Mall on horseback, while The Queen watches from the palace balcony.
Beacons will be lit throughout the UK, and for the first time, in each capital of the Commonwealth countries.
On Friday, June 3, a service of Thanksgiving will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral, to celebrate the Queen’s 70 year reign.
The following day, the monarch and some members of the Royal Family will attend the Derby at Epsom Downs.
On Saturday Harry was pictured in Montecito, Santa Barbra, playing his first game of polo with his new team as Meghan cheered him on from the sideline.
His friend Nacho wrote on Instagram: ‘Thrilled to be riding alongside my friend, Prince Harry, and the rest of the Los Padres team at the @santabarbarapoloclub ‘s Harry East Memorial Tournament.
‘We’ve ridden together many times over the years and now that we’re both parents, it’s extra special to be able to spend this time together.
‘The name Los Padres was inspired by the proximity of the field to the Los Padres National Forest and also by our connection as fathers.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.