Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025 (Calgary, AB)—Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh will attend the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ tournament next month in her new role as Royal Patron of the world-renowned Calgary show jumping venue.
The visit, which will run from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7, will see Her Royal Highness tour the Spruce Meadows grounds, meet athletes, staff, volunteers and other key stakeholders, observe events and enjoy some of the show jumping, during what is the pinnacle tournament of Spruce Meadows’ 50th Anniversary year.
As part of her itinerary, The Duchess will visit a number of local charities which are also supported by Spruce Meadows’ charitable arm, the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation.
The confirmation of Her Royal Highness’s trip follows the announcement earlier this year that she has accepted Spruce Meadows as one of her Royal Patronages.
The Royal visit has been warmly welcomed by the team at Spruce Meadows, lead by President and CEO Linda Southern-Heathcott, who called the announcement “the most wonderful way in which we could have possibly celebrated our 50th Anniversary year.”
“My family and I are both delighted and humbled at the prospect of hosting Her Royal Highness at Spruce Meadows,” Southern-Heathcott added. “We were so thrilled to be accepted as one of her Royal Patronages earlier this year, and look forward to demonstrating the many ways in which Spruce Meadows endeavours to live up to that honour.
“We hope Her Royal Highness will enjoy her time here, as much as we will most certainly appreciate welcoming her.”
Spruce Meadows is dedicated to sporting excellence and development, but also the widespread community and charitable initiatives aimed at enriching people’s lives through the support of amateur and grassroots sports, health and wellness, education, frontline workers, equality for women, military, agriculture, and more, which align with many causes Her Royal Highness advocates for.
The pairing also celebrates the much-cherished bond between Great Britain and Canada, a legacy formerly acknowledged by The late Queen Elizabeth II, who visited Spruce Meadows in 1990 to inaugurate an event in her name.
The Duchess of Edinburgh previously visited Spruce Meadows, with her husband Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh, in 2006, in their former roles as The Earl and Countess of Wessex. The Duchess enthusiastically supports a number of the United Kingdom’s national teams and sports bodies and is Royal Vice President of the Royal Windsor Horse Show and President of the Sandringham Horse Driving Trials.
