Princess Anne, King Charles’s younger sister, is in hospital after suffering a head injury on Sunday, Buckingham Palace said, noting that she was expected to make a full recovery from the incident, which was believed to have involved a horse.
The palace said on Monday that the 73-year-old, the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth, had suffered minor injuries and a concussion following the incident and she was now recovering at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, west England.
The princess was walking within the protected perimeter of the Gatcombe Park estate on Sunday when the incident occurred, Britain’s Press Association said.
Though the exact cause of the injuries is unconfirmed, there were horses in the area. Her medical team said that her head injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs.
“Her royal highness is recovering well, is in a comfortable condition and is being kept in hospital as a precautionary measure for further observation,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.
No longer flying to Canada this week
Her husband, Tim Laurence, accompanied Anne to hospital and her two children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, were also on the estate at the time.
“The King has been kept closely informed and joins the whole Royal Family in sending his fondest love and well-wishes to the princess for a speedy recovery,” the Buckingham Palace statement said.
The princess is expected to return home this week, but her upcoming engagements have been postponed and Anne will not fly to Canada as planned at the end of the week.
However, the official state visit of Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife, hosted by King Charles, will go ahead as planned, starting on Tuesday.
The princess is one of the most popular members of the Royal Family, according to polls, and is regularly credited as being the hardest working. She stepped in to take more duties in light of Charles’s cancer diagnosis.
Her love of horses is well-documented and she won a gold medal in the 1971 European Eventing Championship, while she competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games as a member of the British Equestrian team, becoming the first royal Olympian in the process.
“Her mantra for life is very much if you fall, get back up and try again,” daughter Zara told a TV documentary to mark her mother’s 70th birthday in 2020.