George Milford Haven, the 4th Marquess of Milford Haven has made an impressive name for himself as both a businessman and a sportsman. The man who now holds the weight of the regal Mountbatten family upon his shoulders has made his own fortune many times over and shown athletic prowess on the sports field as a keen polo player.
English polo is one of the most refined games on the sporting calendar and is a favourite among blue-blood families. Prince Charles would play regularly as a young man and Princes William and Harry still do to this day. George Milford Haven, however, was a man of special talent.
The highlight of the 4th Marquess’ career was taking the Queen’s Cup with the Broncos team in 1988. This event is the very pinnacle of the polo world and is played every year between May and June at the Guards Polo Club. The Queen of England herself, Elizabeth II, is a regular attendee and has personally handed over the silver prize trophy to the winners on a number of occasions. The first tournament was held in 1960.
En este artículo encontrarás:
George Milford Haven, polo player
Polo, for the Mountbattens, is a family affair. His beloved uncle ‘Dickie’ (Lord Louis Mountbatten) was also a highly successful and famous polo player. Today he is better remembered as the matchmaker to Queen Elizabeth and her consort Prince Phillip but his polo prowess is not to be overlooked.
In fact, the older aristocrat (whose was killed by an IRA bomb) is remembered in a subsidiary match to the Queen’s Cup tournament. The game for the Mountbatten Cup is also played on Finals day and sees teams from the club that do not make the quarter finals of the main competition play for the special prize.
The elder Mountbatten is remembered as an outstanding player with a 5-goal handicap. He passed his love of the game onto several members of his family. Although not a natural player himself, he encouraged those around him to develop the skill, including George Milford Haven.
The trophy that the winners receive in the Mountbatten Cup match was brought into the club’s cabinet in 1980 as a replacement for the Smith’s Lawn Cup. It is a fine example of the work of artisans and is crafted in fine gold and silver. The inscription reads, “Presented by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in memory of The Earl Mountbatten of Burma.”
Polo, business and George Milford Haven
The 4th Marquess of Milford Haven has regularly competed in Queen’s Club events, taking the cupped named for his uncle on the Duke’s Ground at least once. In that match, George Mountbatten’s Broncos overran the La Bamba de Areco squad by a single point. His wife, Clare Milford Haven, has also lifted the cup with her Bucking Broncos side.
The love of the game burns brightly in the Mountbatten family and George Milford Haven has clearly inherited both the passion and the skill of his revered relative. He has played with many highly successful sides and has worked in close association with Polo World Cup-winning and Polo Hall of Fame entrant, Julian Hipwood.
Away from the pitch, George Milford Haven was the man behind the creation of the uSwitch utilities comparison site that has saved the British public millions on their utilities bills. The Marquess spotted a gap in the market for a product that harnessed the benefits of deregulation for the everyday public and built the product around it.
Customers enter the detail of their bills and circumstances in the online portal and the prices available to them are automatically compared to see if they can get a better deal. It was a wild success and was sold to an American media company for over £200 million in 2006. George Milford Haven continues to invest in other successful opportunities worldwide
2 Comments