Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleA royal delivery from Windsor Castle saved the World Conker Championships, ensuring the event continued despite a conker shortage.
(Reuters) -A royal delivery from Windsor Castle helped the World Conker Championships go ahead as planned on Sunday after an unusually dry and warm summer had put the event at risk.
When Britain's horse chestnut trees, on which grow the shiny inedible nut-like seeds which have been used to play conkers for generations, failed to deliver their usual crop, organisers feared the event might have to be cancelled.
Thankfully, enough conkers of adequate size were made available including, organisers say, a batch of shiny ones sent from the grounds of Windsor Castle.
"It was a real joy to have conkers sent to us this time," St John Burkett, a championship committee member, said.
"The Windsor Castle delivery was of really good quality. They were the ones that really ensured we could go ahead. Intriguingly, we don't know who picked them, but like to imagine it might have been the King, at least a few."
Burkett said the donation had been sent via the public relations department at Windsor Castle.
"We are extremely grateful, and can already say a conker from Royal Windsor will win the final, as we have reserved them to be used in the finals."
The tournament has been in existence since 1965 and has raised thousands of pounds for charities.
Sunday's event attracted extra attention after last year's controversy when men's champion, David Jakins, was accused of using a steel conker but subsequently exonerated.
The game involves inserting a shoelace in a hole pierced through the conker before entering battle. Contests involve players taking it in turns to strike each other's conker with their own until one shatters.
More than 200 conquerors took part, several in fancy dress outfits including squirrels and Star Wars stormtroopers. Jakins was knocked out early, beaten by Stephanie Withall, who played dressed as a giant bee.
After a day of duels, Margaret Blake from Corby was crowned women's champion while the new King Conker was civil servant Matt Cross.
(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)
A conker is the seed of the horse chestnut tree, traditionally used in a children's game where players try to break each other's conkers by striking them with a string.
The World Conker Championships is an annual event held in the UK where participants compete by trying to break each other's conkers, a game that has been played for generations.
Windsor Castle contributed to the World Conker Championships by providing high-quality conkers, which helped ensure the event could proceed despite a poor crop from local trees.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
