The Royal Salute Coronation Cup

LONDON, July 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales today attended the Royal Salute Coronation Cup - the UK's most prestigious international polo match - in aid of the Polo Charities Trust. After a hard fought match featuring the sport's top players, His Royal Highness presented prizes for England after beating South America on The Queen's Ground. England's Max Charlton was also named Most Valuable Player, whilst Silver Lining received the Best Playing Pony prize.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150725/243591 )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150725/243592 )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150725/243593 )

A select group of celebrities, polo aficionados and international guests such as Natalie Coyle, Henry Conway, Alison Jackson and Alistair Guy joined temporal artist Marcos Lutyens in Royal Salute's Secret Garden, curated by the award winning gardener Stephen Woodhams, for a picnic designed to reverse the flow of time - dining amongst flowers recreating the floral displays at HRH Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation handpicked by acclaimed Chelsea Flower Show garden designer Stephen Woodhams, to celebrate the British love affair with horticulture.

Woodhams' collaboration with Royal Salute is the latest in the inimitable whisky's artistic collaborations with key previous collaborators joining Woodhams' timeless floral hideaway. All explore Royal Salute's fascination with time, since the brand's youngest blend only contains precious, mature whiskiesthat are at least 21 years old.

Guests at the Royal Salute Secret Garden enjoyed lunch from British born artist Lutyens' temporally flexible "Hampering of Time" Hamper - recalling the elegant, staged picnics of Regency England. The tailored handmade picnic basket featured Lutyens' time inspired handmade games including a curious 'left handed' clock that makes time flow backwards. Lunch continued with exceptional versions of traditional picnic delicacies using only the best produce from quality British farms.

London based architect Sally Mackereth's Neolithic Bar served Royal Salute in gold leaf porcelain cups. The bar is handcrafted from sections of petrified wooden oak trapped on the riverbed in the River Sava in Croatia for some 8,000 years.

This journey through time was designed to capture the power of polo - a game first recorded 2,500 years ago, but still thrilling crowds at Guards Polo Club today. The Royal Salute Coronation Cup is a key part of the whisky brand's longstanding passion for the world of polo. The Coronation Cup was created to honour the coronation of HM King George V and Royal Salute was created to honour the coronation of his granddaughter, HM Queen Elizabeth II. With the The Queen's own gardens at Buckingham Palace hosting 500 year old Mulberry trees and helliborine orchids not seen elsewhere in London for over a century, Woodhams fascination with historical gardens made him the ideal partner for the lush enclosure.

Vadim Grigorian, Royal Salute Global Brand Director, explains: "At Royal Salute, we agree with Stanford professor Robert Pogue Harrison when he says 'a humanly created garden comes into being in and through time'. As a British brand, we are intrigued by this British gardening obsession, specifically with the time and care it takes to design an immaculate garden. It is only through time, tradition and craft where Royal Salute comes to existence, so we share similar principles with this quintessentially British tradition. And, where better to watch the oldest team sport on the planet? We at Royal Salute are deeply fascinated with polo - from its profound origins rooted in noble values to the naturally evolving symbiosis between player and horse. It is firmly planted in tradition, yet played in the modern world."

Brigadier John Wright, Chairman of the Hurlingham Polo Association said: "This year's Royal Salute Coronation Cup showcased international polo at its best. Both teams produced some superb sport on The Queen's Ground and it was marvellous to see and hear the crowds cheering them on. England's success today is testament to the hard work and commitment that James Beim and his team have brought to this game and I would like to thank everyone who has supported them, especially their fellow players who generously loaned ponies. In addition, South America put up a great fight and entertained us for six glorious chukkas. I would also like to thank Vadim Grigorian and his team at Royal Salute who have created a world-class platform on which we will promote English polo to an increasing audience."

For more information about the Royal Salute, please visit http://www.royalsalute.com/ or salutethegame at @RoyalSalute on Twitter and @RoyalSalutePolo on Instagram.

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About Royal Salute

Royal Salute is a careful blend of malt and grain whiskies - with its youngest blend matured for a minimum of 21 years. Created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the 21 gun salute that honoured her, the brand is steeped in tradition and proud of its royal lineage, but is firmly engaged in the modern world by constantly pushing the art of blending into new, creative and ambitious forms. Royal Salute is deeply involved in polo - the world's oldest surviving team sport and a game that's expanding in the modern era. The brand sponsors more than 15 international tournaments from the UK and the USA through Argentina and China to Korea.

http://www.royalsalute.com

About The Coronation Cup

The Coronation Cup was first played for in 1911 to honour the coronation of King George V, grandfather to our current Queen. From then until 1939, it was traditionally played by the winners of the London Open Tournaments. Although a tournament was played to mark the Coronation of HM The Queen in 1953, it was then not played for again for a further 18 years. In 1971 Lord Patrick Beresford and American polo player, Michael Butler believed that there were sufficient English players to form a team of around 23 goals who might take on an American team of similar handicap and they played for the "mothballed" Coronation Cup. A year later the Coronation Cup moved to Guards Polo Club where a second game and a Best Playing Pony Prize was introduced. When the HPA created the Silver Jubilee Trophy in 1977, to commemorate The Queen's 25 years on the throne, Prince Charles expressed an interest in playing. He went on to captain his team in this match from 1977 - 1993. The format remains pretty much the same to this day and more than 10 different countries have sent their finest players to battle for this most historic of polo trophies.

http://www.coronationcuppolo.com

About Stephen Woodhams Design Ltd

Stephen Woodhams Design is fuelled by a fusion of ideas and that come from many different aspects of the natural world such as dramatic landscapes, the clever play of light, the way plants grow in their native habitat, colours and reflections in water.

The Historic gardens of many different cultures are a rich source of ideas, as are the latest materials produced by cutting edge technology. We are fascinated by the juxtaposition of new industrial materials combined with traditional techniques and methods. We believe in sustainability and try increasing the ecological diversity and richness of any landscape in which we work. Our gardens are very much a product of their time. We believe that clients should have as much or as little involvement with the design process as they wish. Ultimately we like to make connections between people and places, emotions and ideas, hearts and minds. In essence our designs are a physical combination of all the above thoughts and emotions. We see them as an expression of love for what is past and of excitement about the imaginative possibility of the present. While responding to the reality of contemporary life, we seek to acknowledge our intellectual debt to the garden designers of yesteryear.

http://www.stephenwoodhams.com

Royal Salute contacts:

Rebecca Storey, Sutton PR
E-mail: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone] | Mob: [phone]

Kat Carnevale, International PR Manager
E-mail: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone] | Mob: [phone]

Coronation Cup contact:

Diana Butler, Guards Polo Club
E-mail: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone] | Mob: [phone]