A prestigious charity polo event hosted by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales last week (10/07/26) raised £100,000 for Wales Air Ambulance.
The DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup took place at Guards Polo Club in Windsor. The Prince, who was announced as Royal Patron of Wales Air Ambulance in February 2023, played as part of the U.S. Polo Assn. team in a tournament that also featured the Mirror Polo team and the Manta Marine Technologies – La Ilusión Polo Club team.
The U.S. Polo Assn. team defended the title they won last year in an exciting round-robin format.
Wales Air Ambulance was chosen as one of ten charities to benefit from the event, alongside The Royal College of Paramedics, Shout, Tŷ Hafan, Forward Trust, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Maternal Mental Health Alliance, We Are Farming Minds, The Passage, and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
Phae Jones, Wales Air Ambulance Director of Income Generation, said: “To be chosen as one of ten charity beneficiaries of the DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup is truly humbling for us.
“This year, our Charity marks its 25th anniversary. When Wales Air Ambulance was launched on St David’s Day in 2001, it was a one-aircraft operation, flying five days a week. A quarter of a century later, we have grown into one of the most advanced air ambulance services in the UK – a consultant-led, 24/7 service with access to four helicopters and a fleet of rapid response vehicles, delivering hospital-standard care to people across Wales, wherever and whenever they need it.
“Wales Air Ambulance is now a vital part of the critical care emergency response in Wales, and we need to raise £13 million every year to keep our helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
“The funds we receive from this event will be a huge step towards meeting that target. Every penny ensures we can be there for people who suffer a life or limb-threatening illness or injury. To put that into context, we attended more than 3,600 emergencies during 2025 and have attended more than 57,000 missions since our inception in 2001.
“The Prince takes a keen and proactive interest in our Charity and, as a former air ambulance pilot himself, understands better than most the importance of such a service. He has become a passionate member of the Wales Air Ambulance family, and we are overwhelmed to have been chosen as a beneficiary of the Royal Charity Polo Cup.”
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales also attended the Charity’s 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner in June 2026, where he told guests that the milestone was “an opportunity not only to reflect on all that has been achieved over the past quarter of a century, but also to recognise the extraordinary people whose dedication, skill and generosity have made that achievement possible.”
He paid tribute to the Charity’s employees, volunteers and supporters, whose contribution he described as “quite simply invaluable”, and thanked the medical teams, pilots, engineers, call allocators, patient liaison nurses and operational support teams whose professionalism, expertise and commitment have helped build and sustain the service.
His Royal Highness also highlighted Wales Air Ambulance’s standing as a globally respected service, noting that it had “earned an international reputation for the service it delivers” and for its “commitment to evidence-based decision-making that helps ensure the best possible care for the people of Wales.”
Wales Air Ambulance is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership between the Wales Air Ambulance Charity and the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS).
As a result, the service is consultant-led and has become a ‘mobile emergency department’, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient. This includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, dedicated air ambulance crews travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver lifesaving emergency care.
This year’s event takes the total raised from Royal Charity Polo Days played in the UK over the past 15 years to more than £15 million.
