Prince Louis has reportedly declined his first official royal patronage, after being made an offer by the World Conker Championships.
The organisation, which hosts the annual competition in Northamptonshire, reached out to The Prince and Princess of Wales after learning of Prince Louis’ growing fascination with conkers. They invited the seven-year-old to become the event’s first-ever Honorary Patron.
However, a Palace spokesperson told The Telegraph: ‘We really appreciate the invite but currently Prince Louis is ‘conker-trating’ on his studies’.
Conkers is a traditional British game that involves players putting thread through their conker – the familiar autumnal seeds of the horse chestnut tree – and trying to hit their opponent’s conker in order to break it.
The offer followed Catherine’s recent revelation about her son’s obsession with the autumnal symbols during an engagement in Windsor last month with the Scouts and US First Lady Melania Trump. The Princess, who is joint president of the Scouts, stated that the family keep ‘keep finding conkers in cupboards, in his bed – conkers everywhere!’
The World Conker Championships, held every year on the second Sunday of October, has been running since 1965 and has raised over £420,000 for charities supporting the visually impaired. Each year, competitors take part, for the titles of Conker King and Queen.
Although Louis will not be taking on the Honorary Patron role, or any official role just yet, he has already made a few public appearances alongside his family at formal events. In 2023, he carried out his first official engagement by volunteering with the Scouts in Slough as part of the Coronation Weekend.
He has also joined his parents and siblings at major royal occasions, including Trooping the Colour, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations and the annual Christmas Day walkabout at Sandringham.
