Prince wows crowd at polo match

CARPINTERIA, Calif. -- Prince William, with his new wife watching, starred yesterday in a charity polo match that brought the crowd pouring onto the field in the most spontaneous moment of the couple's visit to Southern California so far.

William scored four goals as his team went on to win the overall match. The crowd at the sun-splashed Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club rushed onto the field despite an announcer's pleas for them to return their seats, and finally security used a line of rope to push them back.

Decorum was soon restored, and William's wife, the former Kate Middleton, was to present the trophy to the winning team.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived by helicopter in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County, joining hundreds of well-heeled royal watchers who'd traveled long distances -- and paid big sums -- to see them.

"My father, the Prince of Wales, and my brother, Harry, were as green as that grass outside when I told them I'd be here today," William told a reception where guests sipped Champagne and whiskey. "Catherine and I have had a busy few days -- so the prospect of being able to let loose this afternoon is wonderful for me."

William wore a white shirt and trousers with a blue blazer while his wife sported a silver and marble-gray hand-painted silk dress by British designer Jenny Packham.

The cheap seats cost $400, while anyone paying $4,000 for a VIP ticket got a chance to hobnob with William and his bride.

Carolyn Sesvold flew in from Chicago to attend the match, buying a brown-and-white polka-dot dress, hat and gloves inspired by the outfit Julia Roberts wore to the polo match in the movie "Pretty Woman."

Sesvold, a royals fan, also came to watch a family friend who paid about $50,000 to play against William in the polo game.

Those playing on the same team as the duke paid twice that, she said.