King Charles 'Had Great Trouble Understanding' Baseball at His 1st Game In 1970: Report

The Washington Post recently republished excerpts from its firsthand report of the King's only visit to a Major League Baseball game

The Washington Post recounted an amusing story about King Charles' first time at a baseball game when he visited the United States as a 21-year-old in 1970, a year after he was formally crowned the Prince of Wales.

The Post dove into its archives ahead of the Washington Nationals’ second annual “US-UK Friendship Day” this week and republished its reporter’s firsthand account of the then-Prince Charles’ July 18, 1970, trip to see the team then known as the Washington Senators host the California Angeles.

Charles and his then-19-year-old sister Princess Anne attended the game with President Richard Nixon’s daughters Julie and Tricia, The Post reported. Julie’s husband, David Eisenhower, was a Senators employee and arranged the visit to the ballpark, according to the outlet.

In a 2021 interview with CNN, the recently crowned King quipped that the Nixons “were trying to marry me off to Tricia” at the time, calling his experience during the three-day U.S. visit “quite amusing.”

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At the ballpark, The Post reported temperatures reached 91 degrees, causing Charles to ask the group to instead head up to a shaded press box rather than bear the sun beating down on the stands.

Up there, Charles, Anne, Julie and Tricia watched on as the two mediocre teams played to a 4-0 Senators victory with little more than 8,500 other fans in attendance, many of whom had cameras with them and tried to take photos of the royal family members, The Post reported at the time.

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There was only one home run in the game, which happened in the eighth inning — long after Charles and Anne left the ballpark.

During the game, The Post reported that Charles “appeared very studious” but struggled to understand the rules despite Eisenhower’s attempts to explain them.

“Charles had great trouble understanding the concept of the foul ball, and when the Senators’ Mike Epstein hit one into the stands in the first inning, the prince — apparently well-coached — could not understand why it was not a home run,” The Post reported. “He was quickly straightened out by the gestures of young Eisenhower, who pointed toward the two bright yellow foul poles.”

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Overall, Charles’ sole visit to a Major League Baseball stadium “was apparently an experience of some bewilderment,” The Post wrote.

While the King may have had trouble wrapping his head around American’s national pastime, Charles has a long history of interest in sports more familiar in England. Throughout his youth and into the mid-2000s, Charles frequently played polo, inheriting a passion for the game through his father, Prince Philip, even playing alongside him in tournaments.

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