While we barely discussed her, Princess Anne has been especially active in recent weeks. She was on horseback and on the balcony for Trooping the Colour, she attended Royal Ascot on multiple days and she also attended the Order of the Garter service. She was supposed to visit Canada at the end of this week too. But now it looks like Anne is going to need some rest and some time off her feet. She was riding one of her horses on her estate, Gatcombe Park, and there was an incident. She’s being hospitalized.
The Princess Royal has been admitted to hospital after she was injured on her estate in Gloucestershire, says Buckingham Palace. Princess Anne, 73, “sustained minor injuries and concussion following an incident” at her Gatcombe Park estate.
“She remains in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, as a precautionary measure for observation,” says a palace statement. She is expected to make a full and swift recovery, says the palace.
The cause of the injury is unconfirmed, but it’s understood to be consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs.
The Princess Royal had been expected to begin a visit to Canada at the end of this week.
Anne, like her late mother, is an experienced horsewoman who can handle all kinds of incidents with horses and come out unscathed. That being said, one-off incidents do happen. A horse will get spooked and buck their rider or there’s some kind of third-party involvement. That’s what this sounds like – there was some kind of fall or maybe she got thrown off the horse. Much like QEII, Anne probably wanted to ride until she’s in her 90s. I wonder if this will change that.
Statement from Buckingham Palace about an incident involving Princess Anne yesterday. She remains in hospital in Bristol.
It seems that her injuries were caused by a horse or horse. She has head injuries.
Her brother, the King, has been kept informed. pic.twitter.com/4jIQAGDBx4
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) June 24, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.