She's no prude, but when our US Editor visited the polo club where Harry's ... trends now
As Prince Harry embraced his wife after winning a charity polo match in Florida on Friday he had more than one reason to celebrate.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the Sussexes unveiled two new projects for streaming giant Netflix – a 'cooking and lifestyle' show for Meghan and, most intriguingly, a series about polo hosted by Harry which, it was claimed, 'will provide viewers with unprecedented access to the world of professional polo'.
A statement released by Archewell Productions – the company set up by the couple in 2020 after they quit as senior royals and signed a reported £80 million five-year deal with Netflix – declared: 'Known primarily for its aesthetic and social scene, the series will pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and all it takes to compete at the highest level.'
Harry will narrate and serve as executive producer on the show about the 'Sport of Kings' and, indeed, on Friday it was clear filming is already under way with a Netflix camera crew shadowing his every move at Florida's ritzy Wellington Polo Club.
The Sussexes unveiled two new projects for streaming giant Netflix – a 'cooking and lifestyle' show for Meghan and, most intriguingly, a series about polo hosted by Harry
The Mail on Sunday understands that Harry – and his Netflix crew – will remain in Wellington this weekend to cover the prestigious US Open Polo Championships
While Harry's 'home' club is the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club in California, a ten-minute drive from the Sussexes' £12 million Montecito mansion, he appeared equally at ease in Wellington, Florida, a horse-mad enclave which serves as the HQ for the US Polo Association.
The Mail on Sunday understands that Harry – and his Netflix crew – will remain in Wellington this weekend to cover the prestigious US Open Polo Championships, which attracts top players from around the globe.
But one has to wonder just how far Harry (who, like his father King Charles and brother Prince William, has played polo since his teens) intends to 'pull the curtain back' on a sport that is as infamous for sexually charged off-field antics as it is for horsemanship.
Montecito socialite Kiki Astor penned a 2022 'bonkbuster' called Stick & Ball loosely based on the sexual shenanigans she witnessed during her years passionately following the sport around the globe, from Argentina to Cowdray Park in West Sussex, home to the British Open Polo Championships.
She now spends Sundays during polo season at the Santa Barbara club, which costs $10,000 (£8,000) to join and charges $200 a month (£160) for membership.
Ms Astor, 51, said: 'I don't for a minute think Prince Harry is going to pull the curtain back on what really goes on.
'Polo is a hyper-sexual sport. Everyone is having affairs. There is a lot of sex. You have macho men, many of whom are gorgeous and Argentinian, thundering around on horseback holding big mallets playing a game which is fast and dangerous.'
Might she be thinking of Nacho Figueras – the dashing polo pal of Harry's – per chance? Dubbed the 'David Beckham of Polo', Figueras, 47, is an improbable confidant of the prince who has likened him to a 'brother', having grown up on a farm in Buenos Aires. But the pair met playing the sport and have been photographed together at polo events around the world.
Ms Astor says: 'Polo oozes sex. All that leather and sweat. It's like catnip to women, particularly bored married ones. In Santa Barbara we joke about polo players being 'entertainment for the wives'. The whole thing is like a circus. During the season the polo teams pack up and move from tournament to tournament. Indiscretions are quickly forgotten.'
Harry played for the Los Padres team, headed by his friend Figueras, during the 2022 season
Once the day's sport was over –though not the drinking – the polo players, who had swapped jodhpurs for skintight white jeans, swarmed into the hospitality tent
Indeed, I witnessed first-hand the debauched behaviour of the polo set a few years ago when I visited the Wellington club as a guest of the late Sarah Hunt, ex-wife of F1 champion James Hunt.
Sarah's son Freddie was training to be a professional polo player and so I found myself, on a sweltering Sunday afternoon, sipping champagne in a hospitality suite so close to the action you could see the sweat flicking off both horses and riders.
Once the day's sport was over –though not the drinking – the polo players, who had swapped jodhpurs for skintight white jeans, swarmed into the hospitality tent to be greeted like rock stars by adoring Chanel-clad female fans. Then the real sport began.
I'm no prude but it was eye-opening to see women who had proudly been showing me their engagement and wedding rings hours earlier, shedding their inhibitions as quickly as their clothing.
Much of the 'action' took place in an outdoor Jacuzzi, the steps to which were draped in hastily discarded designer dresses.
It was clear from the 'motion of the ocean', as Sarah jokingly called it, that marriage vows seemed not to apply under the bubbles. Bodies intertwined everywhere, not just in the Jacuzzi but embracing under trees and across the bonnets of luxury cars. It was impossible to avert your eyes.
As one player headed towards the stables with a trio of ladies, Sarah quipped: 'He's being put out to stud', referring to the practice of pairing successful race
