You just never know where life is going to take you. I remember when he was born. I was a young girl. I remember watching him grow up in the public eye. We all watched him grow up, but if you ever told me I’d watch Prince Harry play polo at a charity match on Governors Island I would have told you that you were one sandwich short of a picnic, but that is exactly where life took me on Saturday. The fact that my favorite NY anchorman Pat Kiernan from NY1 was there interviewing the Polo announcer was just gravy. I have an oddly inexplicable crush on Pat Kiernan. For those of you who don’t know him, he’s the morning news anchor on NY1. I feel like if I’m not waking up with Pat then my day just isn’t the same.

CBS news was there and a reporter interviewed the group of girls next to us and asked why they were there. Although I hid behind my Guccis so as to not be picked up on camera, I did think to myself, if I were interviewed would it be too obnoxious to say, “to be with my people, to drink champagne, and to see his royal hotness and to land me a prince?” (BTW, I can’t take credit for HRH nickname as my friend came up with that one).

I have always loved Polo and Polo players. I cannot reiterate enough that we really blew it with respect to maintaining some of the best British traditions such as high tea, strawberries and cream and polo. I truly believe this is because we broke away from England too early and too violently to care about maintaining an interest in these lovely traditions (hello Boston Tea Party anyone?). Polo is where my people congregate. Who are my people? They’re your Vineyard Vines, Nantucket Reds with lobsters embroidered in them, popped collar polo boys (jury is still out on whether I think the time for the popped collar has passed and how I feel about the enlarged Polo pony on the new RL shirts…when I know, you’ll know) and your Lily Pulitzer dresses for the ladies (shockingly short in supply that day, but it was hard to select the proper attire when half of it is free and open to the public and half of it has attendees who dropped $50k for a table). Despite the fashion dilemmas, anywhere people gather in big fancy hats, wear oversized sunglasses, and where the sound of champagne corks popping off sounds like a symphony is where I want to be on a fantastically sunny day.

So, it was with perfect weather and with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline that I saw the Prince enter the Polo grounds wearing white pants and a blue blazer. He walked in with an entourage and only mingled with the VIP section (lawn seats went for $500 and a seat at a table went for a cool $1K). Evidently 5-10 Benjamins got you complimentary Veuve and a private audience with one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. It was slightly annoying that he did not give any face time to the commoners camped out in the free section, which is where yours truly could be found (hey it’s a recession give me a break). Riddle me this, how is a girl supposed to land a prince if he’s surrounded by body guards and other people’s body guards? Hello Harry, it’s not like you’ll need to worry about abdicating the throne a la Edward VIII to marry an American. That’s William’s problem, pas vous!

Prince Harry breezed in and out of Manhattan. He was here for a grand total of 36 hours. They kept the wild child and international playboy on a tight leash. He was basically here to visit kids in Harlem, lay a wreath at ground zero, dedicate a garden, and look sexy in a polo outfit. I think the only bar he hit while in Manhattan was the hotel minibar at the St. Regis or Carlyle or the like.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and some bubbly. The Veuve was refreshing on the warm sunny summer day. We clicked our glasses filled with heavenly nectar from the French gods and watched three of the four Chukkers. We didn’t stay for the fourth Chukker because we knew the ferry ride back to Manhattan, which comes only every half-hour, was going to be a nightmare if we stayed until the end and thus we missed PH getting sprayed with Veuve apres-polo. We did stay for the time honored tradition of divot stamping, which in addition to the fashion and the sound of the ponies rushing from one side of the pitch to the other is one of my favorite things about Polo. Divot stamping occurs at Polo’s equivalent of half time (evidently this happened in a scene in Pretty Woman, but I don’t remember it). Rumor has it that there was a VIP divot area where the well heeled including Madonna and kids, Marc Jacobs, Kate Hudson, Matt Lauer, David Lauren, Chloe Sevingny, and L.L. Cool J did a little divot stamping. After I did my own divot stamping I headed to the “stables” to do a little Prince stalking and caught some of these shots below.

Although I didn’t see Madge et co, I did see Nacho Figueras, famously hot Argentinean polo player and now face of Polo Black. Aye Dios Mio! Talk about muy guapo! Somebody get me a glass of champagne because I need to cool down. He’s outrageously gorgeous. He played opposite Prince Harry’s team. PH’s team was named Sentabale, in honor of the charity he and another prince started to benefit orphaned children suffering from AIDS in Lesotho. Nacho’s team was named Black Watch (or as I like to call it “Team Crazy Caliente”). I didn’t really care which team won, but it was Sentabale who won 6-5 after four abbreviated Chukkers.

Although I didn’t land me a prince (yet), I did pick up an adorable t-shirt that seduced me into buying it for a mere $22.