Prince Harry is well known for being a big sports fan, but his appearance at the World Darts Championship in 2014 left PDC chief Barry Hearn feeling quite sorry for the Royal
Barry Hearn once claimed it was “sad” how Prince Harry was not allowed to fully be himself and interact with the crowd at the World Darts Championship. The Duke of Sussex, 41, is a known fan of sports, especially polo and rugby.
His appearance at the 2014 World Darts Championship in Alexandra Palace was therefore not entirely a shock. But, reflecting on the occasion on The Barry Hearn Show, the ex-PDC boss recalled how the crowd erupted into chants of Harry’s name after spotting him, leading to an awkward reaction from the Prince.
Hearn said: “He’d just come out of the army and he’s obviously on a bit of a bender, I think. He brought three mates along. They were great fun.
“And at one stage, the crowd started chanting. The rules were quite strict. We were allowed to put his face on the big screens just three times during the evening, just a flash.
“So he was having a proper night out with his mates, having a few pints, enjoying himself. And the crowd started chanting: ‘Harry, Harry, give us a wave’. And he looked at me and I saw a bit of inquisitiveness in his face – as if to say, ‘what do I do?’
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“I looked at him and said, ‘if you stand up now and you wave back to these people, your street credibility is assured for life because you’ve identified with the normal man, the people that form the majority of this country’. And he looked at me and said, ‘I don’t think I’m allowed to’… I thought that was quite sad.”
Hearn, 77, claimed in his autobiography that Harry and his entourage drank “60 pints of lager” that night, before inviting both him and his son, Eddie Hearn, to join them for an afterparty.
“They proceeded to consume dozens of pints of lager and merged in with the crowd rather well. Harry was like any ordinary bloke on a night out with his mates,” he explained.
“Eddie and I joined them on a table of six and it was clear they were on a bender. I reckon 60 pints of lager went down and I didn’t have much of it.”
Hearn continued: “At the end, Harry said they were off to a nightclub and would we like to come? ‘Not us,’ I said. ‘You guys are too dangerous’.”
Hearn Sr became chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2001, transforming the organisation into the sport’s leading governing body. Under his guidance, darts rose in popularity across the UK, leading to an unprecedented financial boom.
In 2021, he stepped down as chairman of the Matchroom Sport Group after nearly 40 years and passed the torch to his son, Eddie.
