Barry Hearn once admitted it was “sad” that Prince Harry was not allowed to interact with fans during his appearance at the World Darts Championship. The Duke of Sussex, 41, is a known sports fan, particularly when it comes to polo and rugby.
Yet, it was somewhat of a shock when he made an appearance at the darts event, held at Alexandra Palace, in 2014. Recalling the occasion on The Barry Hearn Show, the former PDC chief described how the crowd erupted into chants of Harry’s name after spotting him, leading to an awkward reaction from the Prince. Hearn recalled: “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?’
“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 knocked back “60 pints of lager” that evening, before extending an invitation to both him and his son, Eddie Hearn, to join them at 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 said.
“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 went on to say: “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 took over as chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2001, transforming the organisation into the sport’s leading governing body. Under his leadership, darts experienced a surge in popularity throughout the UK, resulting in an unprecedented financial boom.
In 2021, he stepped down from his role as chairman of the Matchroom Sport Group following nearly 40 years at the helm and handed over responsibility to his son, Eddie.