Overview

• Organizers invited the seven-year-old to be an honorary patron after Princess Kate highlighted his conker collecting, but the palace said he is "conker-trating" on his studies.
• This year's tournament took place on Oct. 12 in Southwick, Northamptonshire, under new airport-style screening introduced after a 2024 cheating controversy.
• Facing a shortage of large horse chestnuts after a dry summer, organizers say Windsor Castle supplied more than 300 conkers that enabled the event to proceed.
• The competition drew entrants from multiple countries and crowned its annual King Conker and Queen Conker titles in front of an audience reported at about 2,000.
• Founded in 1965, the World Conker Championships raises funds for charities supporting people with sight loss and reports nearly £450,000 raised to date.