Now that Prince Charles is a pensioner, having reached his 65th birthday yesterday, he may be able to spend more time with his retired polo ponies. One lucky steed who has been spared the traditional glue factory is Pedro, who used to charge around Smith’s Lawn and Cowdray Park with the heir to the throne on his back.
Now of a great age, Pedro was recently seen by painter Jeremy Houghton, an artist-in-residence at Highgrove, Charles’s farm in Gloucestershire, for 18 months.
“I came across this smart little courtyard with an old pony in it,” says Jeremy, who had 35 watercolours on show at the Goring Hotel this week. “It was rather touching to see that his Highness, who has all sorts of rare breeds of sheep, cattle and pigs on his farm, has allowed his old polo pony to live out his days in a well-kept stable. Now he’s 65 of course his highness will now be able to get into various museums and palaces absolutely free which he must be very pleased about,” he jokes.
