There are very few records of royalty playing hockey and even fewer of reigning monarchs. However, this reference relies entirely on what King George V said when he attended the international match between England and Ireland at Beckenham in 1921. Having met the teams, he proceeded to tell those in his party that he had been a hockey player himself. Confirmation of this was apparently given during the match by his appreciation of the skills and his understanding of the rules.

Whilst we are happy to accept the Monarch’s word that he played hockey, we have no actual record or report of it. We do know that his elder brother, the Duke of Clarence was a hockey player but they lived rather different lives. The Duke died before inheriting the crown, leaving George an unexpected monarch. George had spent much of his life in the Royal Navy and it could have been while serving that he played hockey as it was a popular game in the Navy in those days.