Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro

In 1876, a 19-year-old Alfonso XII ordered the construction of Madrid's first polo field at the Real Casa de Campo, at the time property of the crown. The main hypothesis behind this impulse points at the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), who during a visit to Madrid in late April 1876 mentioned the game to the king for the first time. The Prince of Wales had just returned from Colonial India, where he had witnessed one of the first oficial matches of polo, between a British garrison and the local Manipurs. Such was the enthusiasm of the future king Edward VII that his relative Alfonso was immediately captivated upon hearing his anecdotes.[14]

Alfonso XII and the Prince of Wales entering Madrid in April 1876. The latter's visit is thought to have sparked Alfonso's wishes for a polo club in Madrid after hearing the prince's anecdotes from Colonial India

The sport of polo was relatively new to Western Europeans; in 1872, the Marquess of Torre Soto founded the "Jerez Polo Club" in Jerez de la Frontera while The Hurlingham Club published the official rules in 1873.[15][16][17] The Duke of Tamames, who had been educated in England, was also one of the main pioneers of polo in Spain.[14] Another important factor in the popularisation of the game was the great amount of business that British entrepreneurs were involved with in Spain, mainly transportation, sherry and mining i.e. Río Tinto, Osborne Group or González Byass. This common exposure to the British 'passe-temps' and colonies introduced in Spain not only polo but also golf and tennis.[18]

Young Alfonso XII, who had studied at Sandhurst, commissioned his admired equestrian teacher colonel Hamley to issue him with the newly published rules of Hurlingham. The king played polo up until his premature death in 1885, establishing the sport definitely amongst the upper classes of Spain. With the closure of the pitch at Casa de Campo as a result of the king's death, his close group of friends started playing polo in a large grassland in what is now Moratalaz in 1893. This group of enthusiasts was comprised by the dukes of Arión and Santoña and the marquesses of Larios, Villamejor and San Felices de Aragón.[18]

With the constantly growing devotion towards the game in Madrid, the idea of founding a club was more plausible than ever. This way, the 5th May 1895 the Duke of Alba established what was then called "Madrid Polo Club". Amongst the first board members were the Duke of Santoña, the Duke of Arión and the Count of Torre Arias, with the Queen Regent as honorary president. During the first board of the club, Spain played its first international polo game between the newly founded society and the Gibraltar Garrison Polo Club, in Granada, the 21st July 1897. The Spanish side included the brothers Leopoldo, José and Ernesto Larios and the Duke of Arión. The components of the English side are unknown, but it is most likely that they were officers of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, which were posted in Gibraltar during the time.[19]

A game of polo at the "Madrid Polo Club", 1906

Around the same time, Alfonso XIII, who had been born king, was not yet 10 years old. Despite his young age, his delicate health had prompted his mother the Queen Regent to ensure he practised many outdoor sports, and so the king had become a prolific horseman. A decade later, in 1908, he played polo in public for the first time, becoming the first monarch of the modern age to do so.[19] The young king had also become a keen golfer in England, and so decided a 9-hole golf course be built in the Madrid Polo Club. In 1901, the course was inaugurated and became extremely popular, with figures such as Prince Carlos and his brother Prince Rainero being frequent players.

In 1907, the golf course had been so successful that the 391 members of the time acquired a larger estate known as "las Cuarenta Fanegas", making reference to the 40 fanegas of land that the Duke of Ahumada had granted for the construction of a garrison of the Guardia Civil in the mid 19th century.[20] It was located near present-day Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. With the considerable growth of golf within the club, it began to take the name of "Madrid Polo-Golf Club". For the design of the new course (the first 18-hole in the country), the board elected John Henry Taylor as architect. Not much is known today about this primitive course, other than its deep bunkers and the ring-like greens baptised then as bullrings, a uniqueness that the "American Golfer" magazine portrayed in one of its issues in April 1914.[21] The clubhouse resembled a British-Indian bungalow.

The 11th hole green at "las Cuarenta Fanegas" (nicknamed the bullring) in 1909, as illustrated in The American Golfer April 1914 issue

With the addition of lawn-tennis (on the lines of the Real Sociedad de Tenis de la Magdalena) in 1912, the club searched for larger terrains to cater for the new sport and the rapidly growing memberships. King Alfonso XIII offered some land in Monte del Pardo belonging to Heritage of the Crown for the symbolic price of 1,000 annual pesetas for a period of 20 years. The new terrain was situated near Puerta de Hierro, a triumphal arch built by Ferdinand VI in 1753. The transferral of all the facilities and members to the new location proved difficult. Back then, very few people had cars, the road to Puerta de Hierro was muddy and out of reach for those living in the city, which represented the great majority of members. Allegedly, the king had to speak to several influential members so that they would convince the rest to move out to the new terrains, claiming "it is an act of patriotism, since Madrid needs a country club that the best of those existing abroad would not surpass at all".[22] Once there was consensus, the members planned the funding of the construction of new facilities, which was wholly out of members' donations.

The club subsequently took the name of the monument later in 1912, and added the prefix real (royal) along with the Royal Crown on bestowal of king Alfonso XIII, thus becoming "Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro".[22]

On June 23, 1940, Edward VIII visited Madrid as Duke of Windsor, staying at the Ritz Hotel. The purpose of this extra-official visit, in the midst of the German invasion of France, was to negotiate possible alliances with Nazi Germany from Axis-leaning Spain.[23] On June 24, The Duke of Windsor spent the day at Puerta de Hierro, where he played golf and attended a St John's Eve party at the club accompanied by the then Marquess of Estella, son of former dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera and brother of José Antonio Primo de Rivera. During the celebration, Windsor was surprised with news from a British aristocrat who owned wineries in Spain and had recently returned from London. As he was told, his brother King George VI had granted an Earldom to former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who he loathed. He complained "why on earth would Bertie reward such nauseating reptile?".[24]

The Duke of Windsor would return to the club on several occasions, most notably in 1960, when he famously played golf under pouring rain.[25]

The Duke of Windsor going for a drive at Puerta de Hierro under heavy rain, 1960

• Royal Order of Sports Merit[27]