The prince, 24, played in the charity game on Governors Island in New York Harbor, and drew a crowd that included Madonna, actresses Kate Hudson and Chloe Sevigny, and musician LL Cool J, as well as many ordinary citizens. The Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic was a fundraiser for Sentebale, the charity that Harry has set up with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help poor children and AIDS orphans in the small African nation.
His team, named after the charity, defeated the opposing Black Watch team 6-5. Harry assisted in the winning goal in the final seconds, drawing the biggest cheer of the afternoon. Both teams included prominent polo stars like Argentine Nacho Figueras, also a Ralph Lauren model, who played for Black Watch. The event was free to the public, but guests in the VIP tent on the opposite side of the field had paid from $50,000 (£31,000) a table down to $500 a head to picnic on the lawn.
After the match, the prince took a coast guard boat up the Hudson River for an unannounced visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on Manhattan's west side. He inspected the Second World War aircraft carrier and the cockpit of a retired British Airways Concorde jet. Museum president Bill White said the staff presented the prince with a section of the 1943 carrier's original wooden flight deck. Also present was a British Marine commando, Joe Townsend, who lost both legs while on duty in Afghanistan.
It was the second and final day of Harry's first official visit to the United States, which began with a sober visit on Friday to the site of the September 11 terrorist attacks. On Saturday morning, the prince toured Harlem's Children Zone, a community organization that offers families social and educational services. He and Prince Seeiso chatted with students working preparing for an exam. Harry has been described as the "party prince" and his New York trip seemed designed partly to counter that image with a focus on his charity work.
Speaking before the polo match, Harry said: "Prince Seeiso and I both lost our mothers when we were very young. We set up Sentebale in their memory, and because my mother loved this city, it makes this occasion all the more poignant for me." In the crowd, Mike Hallman, visiting the city from North Carolina, enjoyed the match with his family. "My kids have never seen polo before," he said. His nine-year-old son Jason added: "It's pretty exciting. I have never seen a prince."