Never mind the tennis! The King is having a ball with the rough and tumble of traditional street sport

Published: 22:11, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 22:11, 2 July 2026 It is a centuries-old game, played in the streets of a Border town. And now King Charles has given hand ba’ his Royal seal of approval – despite the concerns of his own protection officers. The 77-year-old monarch yesterday threw in the first ba’ for the traditional street sport, dating back to 1704, in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire. The 20 burly players immediately surged forward for the loose ba’ and formed a ruck within a couple of yards of the King, prompting royal security officers to abandon their positions and rush to his aid. However, Charles remained unfazed and just took a couple of steps back to avoid the melee. Before throwing in the ba’ the King jokingly asked the men – who represent the Uppies and Doonies who are split depending on whether they are born to the south or north of the town’s Market Cross – where the health and safety officer was but was told: ‘There is no health and safety here.’ Jethart Callants Club president Charlie Young, who handed over the ba’ to be launched, said: ‘The King was chuckling away at what was going on. He was loving the roughness of it all. ‘He actually knows the game and said he had played it in Ashbourne in Derbyshire but I have no idea when that was. ‘Ashbourne also has a handball history but it is called hand ba’ here and it is something we are very proud of in Jedburgh. King Charles throws in the ba’ to begin the game The King revels in the action as the Uppies and Doonies grapple for the ba’ Crowds of schoolchildren give the King a colourful welcome to the town King Charles shakes a tiny hand as he chats to the locals Ancient ritual was taking place with Jethart Callant, Robbie Thomson, leading the cavalcade ‘Our annual game takes place in February and it can get a bit rough so the shop windows all get boarded up. It’s full contact and not really any rules. ‘This was supposed to be an exhibition match but perhaps not unsurprisingly it got a wee bit heated out there.’ The players were involved in a scrummage for almost five minutes in front of thousands of people lapping up the sunshine in Jedburgh’s Market Square before the Uppies broke away to win the game 1-0. The action was also watched by the local Lord Lieutenant John Jeffrey and his former Scotland Grand Slam rugby team mates Roy Laidlaw and John Rutherford who would have revelled being involved in such a stramash in their heyday. It was the first Royal visit to the town since the Princess Royal opened the refurbished Jedforest Bandstand in 2006. This time Jedforest Instrumental Band provided the backing music as the King told them he used to play the trumpet. At the bandstand the King inspected the works of several local businesses including the Abbey Bridge Cafe. Owner Greg Hopwe, 24, said: ‘He was asking how the business all started and what was all involved.’ Jedburgh is midway through its annual summer festival and prior to the hand ba’ exhibition, a pipe band led a procession of horses through the town’s streets headed by this year’s Jethart Callant, Robbie Thomson, 25. He then dismounted and along with five other festival principals danced a traditional reel for His majesty in the main square. The King is in Scotland for the annual Royal Week with Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, also attending events. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.