The Prince Albert Challenge Cup is an event at

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. It is contested by Men's Student Crews in

Coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oa ...

s. It has been held since 2004.

Creation in 2004

The

Britannia Challenge Cup The Britannia Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxed fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club A rowing club is a club for people int ...

was originally presented in 1969 as an event for four-oars with coxswain (Coxed Fours) open to club and student crews, and was contested for its first 35 years by an entry of 32 crews, racing over 5 days - with many times its entry number entering qualification and pre-qualifying races. The Britannia Challenge Cup was split between club and student crews in 2004, having created additional competition time by removing the Prince Philip Challenge Cup, which had been contested by a small entry (usually between 2–4) of international elite oarsmen but was removed from the racing programme in line with the continued removal of coxed fours racing from international regattas meaning that it had lost value. The Britannia Challenge Cup remained as the club coxed fours' competition, while the Prince Albert Challenge Cup for men's student coxed fours created in a similar mould, but with entry restricted to: *Universities *Colleges *Schools No composite crews are allowed to enter. The entry for each competition was set at 16 for both cups. There are now coxed fours events for both clubs and universities at the regatta, and both events have been heavily contested since the change meaning qualifying races have been held for the events. The Prince Albert has attracted international competitors from the US, the Netherlands and Ireland.

The Prince Albert Trophy

Given the success of the fledgling Students Coxed Fours event the stewards agreed to accept and to fund a permanent trophy to be awarded to the winners of the event, two years after its start. The trophy was designed and created by Hector Miller and was presented by

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

- the 2004 winners. It is named after Prince Albert who became the first Royal

Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the Regatta in 1851 and was also closely associated with the origins of Imperial College. The Cup was accepted by the Regatta in the presence of H.M. The Queen at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

in June 2006. As with other competitions at the Royal Regatta the names of the winning crew are inscribed on the trophy.

Winners

Records

References

{{HRRevents Events at Henley Royal Regatta Rowing trophies and awards