Prince Harry falls head-first from his horse during charity polo match, and hurls his mallet in disgust

Harry is furious after his fall He hurls his mallet in disgust... then stomps off the field.Horseman: Harry managed to avoid serious injury by rolling as he hit the ground, but appears to be nursing his shoulder

Crash landing: The Prince takes a breather after falling off his horse on to the hard ground

The Prince was raising money for his Sentebale charity which helps Aids orphans in Lesotho

Royal tumble: Prince Harry is thrown from his horse during a charity polo match in Barbados

Thrown: Harry comes off the horse as it stumbles to the floor and rolls as he makes contact with the ground

Heir-raising: Fortunately it is only Harry's pride that is damaged and his team go on to win the match

Going to ground: Harry's horse loses its footing during a sharp turn as he swings his mallet at the ball

This is the moment Prince Harry took a heart-stopping, head-first tumble from his polo pony during a charity match in the Caribbean yesterday.

The third in line to the throne was thrown from his mount as he attempted a sharp turn close to the goal mouth, causing the animal to lose its footing and slide across the ground in a cloud of dust and grass.

Fortunately the 25-year-old prince managed to dive forwards and execute an athletic roll, breaking the impact of his fall on the rock-hard field in Barbados.


Seconds later he picked himself up unharmed but was clearly upset at the blunder as he threw his mallet to the ground in disgust, ripped off his helmet and punched it. The pony was unhurt.

Harry's team went on to win the inaugural Sentebale Polo Cup, with the prince scoring one of their six goals.
But the moment evoked memories of the incident in which his father, Prince Charles, was knocked unconscious while playing the game and swallowed his tongue.

He was taken to hospital suffering concussion after the 2001 accident.

Speaking about the fall afterwards, Harry said: 'I'm a bit sore but it was all for a good cause so it was worthwhile in the end.

'Basically the horse slipped from underneath me, which does happen occasionally and is a but unfortunate.
'It probably looks very dramatic because I was trying to throw myself clear of the horse. I'm a bit sore but the horse is ok though.'

The Prince explained that he hadn't thrown down his mallet in anger at getting thrown but was furious that he may have lost Sentebale a sizeable donation.

He explained: 'The reason why I was throwing my mallet down was because I met this nice businessman at dinner last night who offered me $50,000 for Sentebale if I fell off my horse today.

'His wife turned round and said 'that's a bit harsh, you should give him $100,000 if he stays on.' And he agreed to seal the deal on that.

'So when I fell off, I threw down my mallet and shouted: "What a waste of $100,000!" I was furious with myself.

'Fortunately this extremely generous gentleman has already been in touch and told us that it was the clear that the horse fell over, rather than I fell off it, so he was happy to honour the $100,000. What a star!

'It's been an exhausting trip - I feel like I have been here a month not two days - but absolutely rewarding.
'Everyone from our local supporters to the Barbados government have bent over backwards to make this work for Sentebale. People have dug so deep in their pockets.

'It looks like we may have raised £500,000 for the vulnerable children of Lesotho, so I couldn't be more pleased.

'We are going to try to take the Sentebale Cup around the world but will definitely be coming back to Barbados as we have started it here and the island has such a special place in our hearts.'

Harry was playing at the exclusive Apes Hill Polo Club in Barbados to raise money for Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in memory of his late mother to help vulnerable Aids orphans in the African kingdom of Lesotho.

The 1,200 ticket match was a complete sell out and is expected to raise more than £100,000. Harry hopes to make the Sentebale Polo Cup an annual event.

Lesotho is one of the world's poorest nations and has been devastated by an HIV pandemic.

One third of its 1.8 million population is infected with HIV or Aids and 40 per cent of children are orphans as a result. Average life expectancy is just 40 years.

Harry visited the country during his gap year and was immensely moved by its plight.

In a speech to mark the occasion yesterday he told supporters: 'It seems to be one of life's cruellest ironies that when natural disaster strikes - whether it be earthquake in Haiti or years of drought and ravaging by HIV AIDS in Lesotho, it is always the most vulnerable, the most defenceless, the children, who are left exposed and needing the most help.

'We are making a real difference in Lesotho but it is not straight-forward.

'The problems are complex and our work, inevitably, is not without its issues. But we are there for the long term.'

During his visit to the island, Harry also did his bit to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, by strutting his stuff at a Calyso concert after challenging donors to raise thousands to get him on his feet.

The royal joined revellers at a massive open air charity concert being broadcast live across the Caribbean on Saturday night when he made the impromptu offer to dance on stage in front of millions of viewers if they donated 5,000 Barbados dollars (£1,560) in the next 25 minutes.

The dare was announced by a compere to the cheering audience in the grounds of Farley Hill national park and a telephone number flashed on screen for viewers at home.

With moments to spare, the money came through and Harry, who was wearing a Haiti We Care t-shirt, blushed and groaned as he walked towards the floodlight stage.

'I can't believe I have let myself in for this. I think I'll just crowd dive instead,' he joked (after taking a quick sip of rum for Dutch courage).

He proved true to his word, however, and to loud whoops from the crowd, he walked through the throng and took his place centre stage.

Thankfully, he did not disgrace himself.

In fact the third in line to the throne displayed a surprising amount of rhythm as he jived to a pulsating calypso beat provided by singer Red Plastic Bag, real name Stedson Wiltshire, winner of last year's Barbados Calypso King title.

Afterwards the prince, who also made an undisclosed personal donation to the Haiti relief effort, quipped: 'There goes my credibility.'

Harry had hoped to visit to the disaster zone at the end of his Barbados visit but the trip has been postponed until later in the year.

It has been a packed weekend for the prince, who has conducted a series of engagements on only his second official foreign visit, including visiting a local children's hospital and attending a garden party for youngsters.

Last night he flew back to England to continue with his training as an Army Air Corps helicopter pilot.

He was told last week that he has passed the latest stage of his gruelling year-long course and hopes to progress to the Lynx aircraft later this year, possibly returning to Afghanistan in two years time.

Before he did, however, he couldn't resist a revenge dig at his elder brother, Prince William, who last week jokingly referred to Harry as 'the other ginger one' in a speech during his own tour of Australia.

Chatting to George Browne, 83, a former corporal in the Southern Caribbean Regiment who recalled meeting one of the brothers in 1995, Harry quipped: 'If it was William, he was already bald aged 12.