Prince Harry plays charity polo match in Aspen

Prince Harry rides for one of the causes close to his heart.

The Duke of Sussex traveled to Colorado to compete in the Sentebale Polo Cup at Aspen Valley Polo Club on Thursday. The charity match benefits Sentebale, the organization Harry founded in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help children in Africa affected by poverty, inequality, HIV/AIDS and recently COVID-19.

Before the games started, the prince posed for a photo with his longtime friend Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras, his wife Delfina Blaquier and Sentebale CEO Richard Miller.

Figueras also shared an Instagram tribute ahead of the event, posting a photo of him and Harry riding side-by-side.

“I love playing with you and even more so if we raise funds for this great cause. Thank you to everyone who supports this event today at @aspenvalleypoloclub,” the 45-year-old professional polo player wrote.

In a separate post, Sentebale confirmed that Figueras would join his friend on the charity team in a round robin matchup against Royal Salute and the US Polo Association.

It’s the second year in a row that the charity match has been held near Aspen, not too far from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s California home, where they moved in 2020. In his surprise appearance at the 2021 event, Prince Harry has pledged $1.5 million of proceeds from his upcoming memoir to the charity.

“This is one of many donations I plan to make to charities and I am grateful to be able to give back in this way to children and communities in dire need,” Harry, 37, said in a statement.

Prince Harry has been keen to take part in the charity event for the past few years. Just weeks after Archie’s birth in 2019, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson traveled to Rome for his first night away from his son for the event.

In 2018, Meghan supported Prince Harry from the touchline – and celebrated with a congratulatory kiss after presenting the trophy.

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Prince Harry has competed at the Santa Barbara Polo Club for the past few months with Figueras in a team called Los Padres, which means “the fathers” or “parents” in Spanish. Meghan, 41, has often cheered on her husband from the sidelines – and even called herself “pwife”, according to Blaquier.

“M- I look forward to many more of these moments with you and H. Spending time together during these 2 months was so special,” Blaquier wrote in an Instagram post. “I wish everyone new [sic] you as you are. My sister ❤️, my now colleague “pwife” (polo wife) – it’s the genius to have invented this 😂.”

The couple will travel to the UK in early September for a series of charity events. They will also travel to Germany to kick off next year’s Invictus Games in Dusseldorf.