Princess Anne's agony after horse accident horror

June 25, 2024

By Rebecca English, Royal Editor and Mark Duell and Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter

Published: 02:28 EDT, 25 June 2024 | Updated: 02:33 EDT, 25 June 2024

Princess Anne will ‘hate’ having to miss a series of engagements this week after suffering head injuries and a concussion, a former staff member told MailOnline today. The Princess Royal is being treated at Southmead Hospital in Bristol after she is said to have been kicked by a horse on her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. The 73-year-old royal, a skilled horsewoman who competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, was going for a walk yesterday evening when the incident occurred.

Emergency services were sent to the estate and, after being given medical care at the scene, Anne was transferred to hospital for tests, treatment and observation. She will now have to miss at least nine engagements this week including a trip to Canada and a banquet for the Japanese State Visit in London tomorrow. Anne has often been dubbed the ‘hardestworking royal’, and a former staff member who worked closely with her for several years told MailOnline today: ‘She’ll hate it. But she’s an amazing woman and will quickly bounce back. No one would ever dare to tell her to slow down when I was there and I doubt it will change even after this.’

Anne is a key member of the King’s slimmed-down working monarchy, and has played a big role by stepping up in support of Charles amid his cancer diagnosis. The Princess is known for her no-nonsense approach and her commitment to royal duty, and the King made a point earlier today of making public his ‘fondest love and well-wishes’ for his sister. Anne is understood to have been taking an evening stroll on her estate with horses nearby when she was hurt. The Princess was left with minor wounds to the head, and her medical team are understood to believe these are consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs. But due to the concussion sustained by the Princess, precise details of the accident are unable to be ascertained at the moment, MailOnline understands.

She is expected to make a full recovery but will miss nine engagements in the coming seven days, including a royal visit to Canada this Sunday. Her hospital stay has again highlighted how stretched the Royal Family is with the King and the Princess of Wales both being treated for cancer. Anne’s husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and her children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, were on the estate at the time she was injured. An air ambulance was flown to the scene but not required to take Anne to hospital. The royal was given treatment before being taken to Southmead Hospital for tests, treatment and observation, with Sir Tim by her side. Her brother Charles was immediately informed but Anne’s engagements this week have been postponed on her doctors’ advice. ‘Her Royal Highness sends her apologies to any who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,’ a royal spokesman said.

The Princess Royal is the hardest working royal in terms of annual engagements at a time when the King has cut back on events and Prince William has also taken time off to care for his wife. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have walked away from royal duties completely. A palace spokesman said Anne was ‘recovering well’ and in a ‘comfortable condition’. Subject to medical advice, she is expected to be able to return home later this week. It is understood she has suffered concussion and minor injuries to the head, but she is expected to make a full recovery. It is not thought that any other individual was involved in the incident It is believed that palace officials have a ‘working hypothesis’ of how the Princess sustained her injuries, but cannot be 100 per cent certain at this stage.

A royal spokesman added: ‘Her Royal Highness is receiving appropriate expert care. No further details are being shared at this stage. ‘Her Royal Highness will remain in Southmead Hospital unless or until her medical team advise otherwise. Sir Tim Laurence accompanied Her Royal Highness to hospital.’ Announcing the news at 12.20pm today, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘The Princess Royal has sustained minor injuries and concussion following an incident on the Gatcombe Park estate yesterday evening. ‘Her Royal Highness remains in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, as a precautionary measure for observation and is expected to make a full and swift recovery. ‘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.’ King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Anne’s other siblings, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, were all informed last night. Plans are being examined in close consultation with the Canadian Government as to how the Princess’s proposed engagements may be adapted in her absence.

The Japanese State Visit will go ahead as planned, though the Princess will be unable to attend the State banquet tomorrow. Anne will miss eight engagements across England and Scotland as well as a visit to Canada over the coming week. According to the official royal diary, Anne was expected to travel to the Gogarburn Conference Centre in Edinburgh tomorrow for the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in her role as president of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth. On Wednesday, Anne was then due to open Warsash Sailing Club’s renovated clubhouse in Hampshire as the president of the Royal Yachting Association. On the same day, she was expected to cross the county to also learn about the Royal Lymington Yacht Club’s community sailing programme in her role as patron. And Anne was then due to head back to Edinburgh for the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference’s dinner at the Royal Highland Showground. On Thursday, Anne was going to visit Strathcarron Hospice in Denny, Stirling and Falkirk. And on the same day she was due to be back in Edinburgh for the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference’s annual general meeting.

She was also scheduled to attend the Spinal Injuries Association’s charity polo day on Friday at Cirencester Park Polo Club in Gloucestershire. And then the Canada visit was scheduled for Sunday and Monday, but she will no longer be able to fly to the country. The princess’s accident is the latest health upset to the hit the royal family this year, with both the King and the Princess of Wales diagnosed with and undergoing treatment for cancer, and Sarah, Duchess of York, having skin cancer. Anne is a key member of the King’s slimmed-down working monarchy, and has played an important role as she stepped up in support of Charles amid his condition. The princess, often dubbed the hardest-working royal, is known for her no-nonsense approach and her commitment to royal duty. At Trooping the Colour earlier this month, she was pictured expertly keeping her horse under control when it appeared agitated. Anne won the individual championship at Burghley in 1971, and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

In 1976, she took part in the Montreal Olympics as a three-day eventer with the British equestrian team. The princess survived an attempted kidnapping in 1974 when a gunman tried to abduct her and then-husband Captain Mark Phillips as they were driven along The Mall to Buckingham Palace. She kept her cool, and when the gunman, Ian Ball, told her to ‘Come with me for a day or two’ because he wanted £2 million, she replied it was not ‘bloody likely, and I haven’t got £2 million’.