Princess Anne, the younger sister of King Charles, has been hospitalized after sustaining minor injuries and a concussion in an “incident” at her home, according to Buckingham Palace.
The Palace released a statement earlier today confirming that Anne, 73, was hospitalized as a precaution after suffering the injuries, though the exact cause remains unconfirmed.
According to CNN, a source alleged that the princess was walking close to horses on her estate in Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire, western England, when the incident occured.
Again, the exact cause behind the injuries hasn’t been made public yet, though Princess Anne’s medical team have said that her injuries are consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs.
“The Princess Royal has sustained minor injuries and concussion following an incident on the Gatcombe Park estate yesterday evening,” the statement from Buckingham Palace said Monday.
“Her Royal Highness remains in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, as a precautionary measure for observation and is expected to make a full and swift recovery.”
Emergency services were sent directly to Anne’s estate, where medical care was offered at the scene before the princess was transferred to Southmead Hospital for tests, treatment and observation.
The Palace added that King Charles “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.”
A senior member of the Royal Family, Princess Anne has always lived her life in the spotlight. That said, she’s never been the type to attract headlines through her work, but rather her personal life and interests.
In her youth, Anne placed perhaps more focus on having fun and enjoying herself rather than her royal duties. Yet over the years, she became – and remains – one of the hardest-working royals in the entire family.
In 1969, aged 18, Princess Anne began taking on public engagements as a working royal. However, she had a number of other passions. By 11, the young princess had already made her debut in horse riding competitions, even winning a jumping event held by the Queen at Windsor Home Park, according to the book Anne, the Princess Royal.
She continued riding at the private Beneden School and tried out horses at the Moat House Riding School as much as she could.
“I thought if I was going to do anything outside of the royal family, horses was likely to be the best way of doing it,” Princess Anne told royal author Katie Nicholl in a piece for Vanity Fair.
“But then you have to find the right horse at the right time. The original horse I rode was bred as a polo pony and should never have been an event horse, but it worked, so that was very satisfying. But I always knew it was going to be limited time.”
Here’s to wishing Princess Anne a speedy recovery from her injuries. Leave a comment in the box if you’d like to send well wishes.