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Sovereign's Prize

An illustration of the 1861 competition
Sport	Shooting
Competition	Imperial Meeting
Discipline	Fullbore target rifle
Location	Bisley Camp
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	National Rifle Association
History
First award	1860
Editions	154
First winner	Edward CR Ross
Most wins	A Fulton A Marion TA Ringer D Calvert GCD Barnett DC Luckman 3 times
Most recent	DC Luckman

The Sovereign's Prize, referred to as the Queen's Prize or the King's Prize depending on the incumbent British monarch, is the oldest fullbore target rifle shooting competition and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport globally. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually on Wimbledon Common in London. The competition later moved to the purpose-built Bisley Camp where it is still held today.

The winner receives a gold medal and £250. Strictly, the "Queen's Prize" refers to the £250 cash prize, which was originally the personal gift of Queen Victoria. The gold medal is awarded by the Association. As of 2024, the Prize has been contested 155 times, breaking only for the World Wars. Although contested on an open basis, it has only been won three times by women (in 1930, 2000 and 2022). Six people have won it three times.

Course of fire

As of 2022, the Prize is contested in three stages. Standard NRA targets are used, with scoring rings offering a maximum score of five points, plus a "v-bull" within the 5-ring (used for tie-breaking). Since the move to the National Shooting Centre at Bisley, the first and second stages have been contested on the 600-yard range Century Range, whilst the final is contested on Stickledown Range (which can support shooting up to 1200 yards).

Stages II and III are sometimes known as a "Queen's Prize" match. A "Queen's Prize" is used as the standard course of fire for fullbore rifle matches at the Commonwealth Games, although all competitors shoot all distances without elimination.

King's I

Stage one is an open elimination round consisting of three "2+7" matches (2 sighters with 7 shots to count) at 300, 500 and 600 yards. This gives a highest possible score of 105 with 21 V-bulls (rendered as 105.21v).

The top three hundred competitors progress to the second stage, which typically includes scores of ~101 or better.

King's II

Stage two consists of 2+10 matches at the same distances as the first stage. Qualification is on a "start from zero" basis, meaning that scores from the first stage are not carried forward and top qualifiers have no advantage over those with poorer scores in the first stage. The highest possible score is 150 with 30 v-bulls (150.30v).

The top one hundred competitors progress to the third and final stage. The "King's Hundred" each receive an NRA '100' Badge. The top scorer in the second stage is awarded an NRA Silver Medal for winning the "short range" portion of the competition, regardless of how they perform in the final.

King's III (King's Final)

Stage three moves to longer distances, consisting of 2+15 shoots at 900 and 1000 yards. Scores are carried forward from the second stage, giving a highest possible score of 300.60v. Winning scores better than 298 are common, indicating the shooter has only dropped one or two shots across five distances and sixty shots.

The winner receives a gold medal and £250, with the runners up receiving silver and bronze badges respectively. The winner is then "chaired" off the range on an open sedan chair borne by other competitors. By tradition they are carried to the NRA offices to receive their prize, followed by a tour of the clubhouses on camp.

Winners

Notable winners include the three female winners – Marjorie Foster (1930); Joanna Hossack (2000) and Alice Good (2022). A road on Bisley Camp is named Marjorie Foster Way.

The Fulton family have the unique distinction of having three generations of winners. George Fulton used the proceeds of his 1888 win to found Fulton's Gun Shop on Bisley Camp, which still stands today. His son Arthur won a record-breaking three times in 1912, 1926 and 1931. Arthur's son Robin won in 1958.

Arthur Fulton's record was only matched in 1996. There are now six shooters who have won the Prize three times:

• Arthur Fulton (1912, 1926, 1931)
• Alain Marion (1980, 1983, 1996)
• TA Ringer (1992, 1997, 2001)
• David Calvert (2010, 2015, 2016)
• GCD Barnett (2002, 2003, 2019)
• DC Luckman (2018, 2020, 2024)

Also notable is PA Bennison's 1998 shoot, where he became the first person to score a "possible" with 300.40v. Canadian shooter James Paton matched this in 2005 with another 300.40v.

See also

• Imperial Meeting - The NRA Meeting in which the Sovereign's Prize is contested.
• Bisley – The Queen's Prize – a BBC film following the 1986 Imperial Meeting and Queen's Prize, presented by Brian Glover.

Notes

1. The Silver Medal is awarded to the highest scorer in the second stage, who has effectively won the "short range" portion of the competition. The overall runner-up in the Final is awarded a silver badge, and is not recorded here.

References

1. "H.M. The Queen's Prize". GB Rifle Team. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
2. "Aris's Birmingham Gazette, etc. 07 May 1860, page 1". Aris's Birmingham Gazette. 7 May 1860. p. 1. The Queen's prize of 250l., together with the gold medal of the Association, will be shot for by candidates successful in other trials, the ranges being 800, 900 and 1000 yards.
3. "NRA Handbook – Imperial competitions 2022" (PDF). National Rifle Association. p. 294. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
4. Bruce A. R. Scott (22 September 2021). "Chairing of Rifle Shooting Champions – The Tradition". National Rifle Association of Australia. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023. The earliest evidence of the Chairing Ceremony for the sport of long range rifle shooting is recorded in the book titled 'History of the National Rifle Association during its first fifty years 1859 to 1909' by A.P. Humphry and Lieutenant Colonel the Hon T.F. Fremantle, 1914. ... The plate on the original chair reads: 'Presented in 1883 by Sgt GJ Wainwright LRB'. This suggests that the Chairing Ceremony was introduced at the Wimbledon Championship in 1883 and is peculiar to shooting and the King's/Queen's Prize. Since this likely first chairing of the winner, the ceremony has been adopted by many other nations, particularly Commonwealth Countries, where long range rifle shooting is an established and recognised activity.
5. ""See The Conquering Heroine Comes" Again!". Pathé News. British Pathé. 21 July 1930. Archived from the original (Video) on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
6. "Marjorie Foster (1893–1974)". Exploring Surrey's Past. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
7. Imogen Lyons (6 January 2016). "Marjorie Foster: prize-winning rifle shot and poultry farmer". Intriguing People. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
8. "Surrey's bygone sporting heroes to be celebrated". BBC News. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
9. "First woman to win Bisley in 70 years". The Independent. 23 July 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
10. Callum O'Shea (27 July 2022). "CURA Captain wins highly coveted Queen's Prize!". University of Cambridge Sport. University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
11. "The King's and Queen's Prize". National Rifle Association. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
12. ^ "Alain Marion GM3, GC, SM, SB, SC2". NRA News. National Rifle Association. 26 June 2023. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
13. ^ "J Sharman". The Standard. London. 26 December 1865. p. 6. The Queen's Prize was won by Private Sharman, or the 4th West York Rifles, ... while Mr. Edward Ross, formerly of the Cambridge University Corps, and now of the London Scottish, the champion for the yea 1860, won the SIlver Medal in the first stage for this prize this year...
14. ^ "A colourful character..." The Glamorgan Gazette. 25 April 1991. p. 5. ISSN 0965-9242. Retrieved 30 December 2023. A crack shot with a rifle, Colour Sgt Davies - a Llanelli man - won scores of medals for shooting, including the Queen's Prize in 1893 and the King's Prize in 1903.
15. "The Bisley Meeting Leicester Man Wins the King's Prize the Final Stage". Nottingham Evening Post. 28 July 1902. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
16. Kay, Joyce (23 September 2004). "Foster, Marjorie Elaine (1893–1974), rifle shot and poultry farmer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/65174. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
17. "Father's Bisley Prophecy Comes True". The Stapleford and Sandiacre News. 29 July 1933. p. 7. ISSN 1351-993X. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
18. ^ "Walter Magnay". The Times. Times Media Group. 4 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.(subscription required)
19. ^ "Queen's Prize Win Repeated". The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post. 23 July 1956. p. 9. Major G.E. Twine ... repeated his 1954 success in winning the Queen's Prize of £250 and the National Rifle Association Gold Medal, at Bisley on Saturday.
20. ^ "Keith Pilcher". The Times. Times Media Group. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2023. He held the unique distinction of winning the Queen's Prize blue riband event at Bisley twice, using first, in 1963, the immediate postwar .303 calibre adapted Lee Enfield service rifle and ten years later, in 1973, a bespoke rifle in the 'new' 7.62mm calibre.
21. "Bisley - The Queen's Prize" (Video). Movietone News. British MovieTone News. 23 July 1964. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
22. "Uk: Canadian Wins Queen's Prize At Bisley Shooting". Pathé News. British Pathé. 16 July 1966. Archived from the original (Video) on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
23. ^ "Andrew Tucker". The Times. Times Media Group. 16 July 2003. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023. Andrew Tucker won international honours in small-bore and full-bore rifle shooting in 39 consecutive years from the early 1960s. He won the Queen's Prize at Bisley twice, the Bisley Grand Aggregate, the National Smallbore Rifle Association Lord Roberts Trophy and its Grand Aggregate (twice), and Commonwealth Games gold and silver medals.(subscription required)
24. Leslie Howcroft (27 July 1991). "Robilliard moves up with maximum". The Daily Telegraph. p. 27. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 January 2024. Graham Robilliard , an actuary who shoots for Ibis Rifle Club, confounded some of Britain's top internationals at Bisley yesterday with the top score in the second stage of the Queen's Prize.
25. Leslie Howcroft (25 July 1992). "Cheminant wins the silver". The Daily Telegraph. p. 30. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 January 2024. ANDREW Le Cheminant, from Jersey, won the Queen's Silver Medal at Bisley yesterday with a score of 148 out of 150 for the short-range semi-final round.
26. Leslie Howcroft (24 July 1995). "Luckman master of the conditions". The Daily Telegraph. p. 41. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 January 2024. ANDY LUCKMAN, of Sedgemoor RC, at 23 one of Britain's most outstanding marksmen, won the Queen's Prize at Bisley only one year after winning the Grand Aggregate, the overall championship.
27. "SHOOTING". The Daily Telegraph. 29 July 1996. p. 45. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 January 2024. Queen's Prize: 1. A Marion (Canada) 298.41pts (sic); 2. Sqdn Ldr D Calvert (RAF/Comber) 298.41; 3. A Luckman (Sedgmoor TSC) 297.49.
28. "Sport in Brief". The Times. Times Media Group. 21 July 2003. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023. Shooting: Glyn Barnett's first act after creating history by successfully defending the Queen's Prize at Bisley was to dedicate his win to the memory of Andrew Tucker, one of the finest British riflemen, who died on July 9. 'He was a great friend to all shooters,' Barnett said.
29. Walsh, Dominic (14 March 2017). "Shard Capital's hot shots go in all guns blazing". The Times. Times Media Group. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2023. Shard Capital, the brokerage and asset management firm, will be a little light on senior management. Toby Raincock, its chief executive, and James Lewis, its managing partner, are both flying to South Africa to represent the Great Britain rifle team at one of the sport's big events. Who's the better shot? 'James won the highly coveted Queen's Prize at Bisley in 2007, which puts him into an elite club of winners dating back over 150 years,' says Mr Raincock. 'On current form it would be close but perhaps I might just edge him out.'(subscription required)
30. Tony de Launay (26 July 2010). "David Calvert puts near misses behind him to finally win HM The Queen's Prize at Bisley". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

External links

• NRA Target Rifle Imperial Meeting

• National Rifle Association (United Kingdom)
• Sports trophies and awards
• Rifle shooting sports
• Recurring events established in 1860
• British sports trophies and awards
• Target shooting trophies and awards
• Awards established in 1860