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On This Day: First ever Henley Royal Regatta is held

On This Day: First ever Henley Royal Regatta is held

MARCH 26, 1839: The first ever Henley Royal Regatta was held on this day in 1839.

The annual boat races, which have taken place ever year except during the two World Wars, were originally staged as a local amusement fair, with rowing a side attraction.

Once an amateur competition, Regatta has since grown into the biggest rowing event in the world – and taken on a special role as part of the traditional upper class social calendar.

The most prestigious race held in the genteel Oxfordshire town on the Thames is the Grand Challenge Cup, which is open to men’s eight club teams from across the world.

There are also junior competitions, which are typically dominated by elite British public schools such as Eton and Harrow.

In the first year, the Regatta took place over a single day. Then in 1840, it was extended to two – and has lasted three days since 1886.

Its popularity ensured that it was made a four-day event in 1906 – and since 1986 it has taken place over five days.


As much as the rowing, the Regatta is known for its prominent role in the Social Season.

This upper class tradition, which starts at Easter and runs until grouse shooting begins on the “glorious Twelfth” of August, has long been an opportunity to 'be seen'.

 

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Other calendar events, such as Ascot and Wimbledon, have been accused of being watered down by self-promoting celebrities and brash, boozy corporate guests.

But Henley has remained very elitist – in large part due to its strict dress codes that require men to wear a 'lounge suit, blazer and flannels, or evening dress, and a tie'.

Many also choose to wear boater hats - which remain part of the school uniforms as several boys’ private schools, including Eton - and gaudy, striped blazers.


Women in the Stewards’ Enclosure must wear a dress or skirt that covers their knees, and are 'encouraged to wear a hat', which are often quite elaborate.

Fake tan, tattoos, misjudged mini-skirts or 'wardrobe-malfunctioning' dresses are a big no-no at the Regatta, which first got Royal patronage from Prince Albert.

 

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The competitions have also been criticised – and lauded by some – as being elitist.

Until 1938, the rulebook forbade any person 'engaged in any menial activity' – and specifically a 'mechanic, artisan or labourer' from taking part in the races.

This rule saw the 1920 exclusion of future U.S. Olympic champion John Kelly after stewards discovered he had served an apprenticeship as a bricklayer.


The father of Oscar-winning actress turned Monaco princess Grace Kelly and later Regatta sculls champion John Kelly Jr ensured the incident remained in the media.

The deliberate social class infringement was only ended in 1938, an event shown in a British Pathé newsreel.

 

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Yet it continued to enforce a very strict definition of amatuerism that bars anyone who has ever taught athletics or been paid to work on a boat of any kind.

The competition was finally opened to professional competitors in 1997.

The Regatta usually occurs within a few weeks of the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race, which takes place 30 miles down river at Putney, southwest London.