Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, considered one of the most popular and “hardest working” members of the British royal family, has been hospitalized with a concussion.
According to multiple sources including the BBC, the injury happened while Princess Anne was on her country estate in Gloucestershire and is “consistent with an impact from a horse’s head or legs.”
We’ve been unable to uncover any further details, although it’s surmisable that the Princess was handling a horse, not riding, when the accident occurred.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying that the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip was admitted to hospital after she suffered a minor head injury and concussion. “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 official statement read.
According to the CBC, the accident has prevented the princess from her planned visit to Canada this week.
The Princess, who is now 73, is a lifelong horsewoman who represented her country in the three-day-event during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Her riding skills were recently put to the test at the Trooping the Colour parade in London on June 15. A clip of her bringing a lively horse under control soon went viral.
Her daughter, Zara Tindall, has followed in her mother’s “stirrups” and is even more a more decorated event rider, landing multiple European championships, individual gold and team silver medals at the World Equestrian Games in 2006, and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year the same year. She was also part of the silver medal-winning Olympic team in 2012.
In the same palace statement it was said that Princess Anne is conscious and is expected to stay in hospital until later this week “as a precautionary measure for observation.” But she is thankfully expected to make a full recovery.