What Sport is the Most Popular Among Royals?
Oct. 1 2024, Published 1:02 a.m. ET
If you have ever wondered what sports are popular among the royals, you've come to the right place. On this page, we will be revealing the top sports typically played by members of the royal family, which may or may not surprise some of you.
Which sports do the royals love the most?
The royals have a long association with various sports. In fact, 14 royal family members have competed at the Olympics. However, the two sports most commonly associated with the royals are Polo and horse riding, both of which are considered noble sports.
The seven sports that one or more members of the royal family enjoy either actively participating in or watching more than any others are the following:
Polo
Horse riding
Rugby
Football
Field Hockey
Tennis
Hunting
The Royal Family have been seen on many occasions attending some of the world's biggest sporting events, and when it comes to horse racing, some of the most prestigious meetings they enjoy, like the rest of us, are the Grand National, the Epsom Derby, and Royal Ascot.
Queen Elizabeth II was passionate about horses and even owned and bred them. She was named British flat racing Champion Owner on two occasions, and her horses won over 1,600 races.
What exactly is Polo?
Polo is one of the world's oldest equestrian team sports, with roots dating back as far as two millennia to ancient Persia.
In a standard polo match, two teams, each with four riders on horseback, compete against each other to score as many goals as possible.
They can score goals while riding their horses by using their long mallets with extendable handles to hit the balls on the polo ground into their opponent's goal. Each polo ground is approximately the size of six full-sized football pitches, and each game is divided into seven-minute-long periods, also known as chukkas.
Which Royal Family members from the UK and other countries have competed at the Olympics?
Possibly the most famous Royal Family member ever to compete at the Olympics was Princess Anne, who rode Goodwill (also the Queen's horse) at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.
Other notable Royal Family members who have also participated at the Olympics include Zara Tindall, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Captain Mark Phillips, and Prince Albert II of Monaco.
That's not forgetting King Felipe VI, Prince Bira of Siam, Princess Haya bint Hussein, Iñaki Urdangarin, Princess Cristina of Spain, King Constantine, King Olav V, and King Harald V.
They represented their countries in various sports, such as Sailing, Handball, Equestrian events, Martial Arts, Yachting, Bobsleigh, and Swimming.
Several of these royals also won either gold, silver or bronze medals. Some of the other popular sports that royals also enjoy are Skiing, Golf, Cricket, Motor Racing, Netball, Fishing, and Squash, to name a few.
Final thoughts
If you want to watch any of these Royal Family members competing in their respective sports, you can now find many videos on major streaming sites like YouTube.
In one intense video, you can watch as Princess Anne was thrown from her horse in the cross-country competition, which she recovered from. There's also a recent video which shows passing the Olympic Torch in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
You can also find documentaries about royals who have been successful in sports on other major video streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Prime.
