Princess Anne: The British Royals and their accidents with horses

The British royals and their horses: It is a love that has lasted for decades, but has also led to a lot of pain. As Buckingham Palace announced on Monday, Princess Anne was slightly injured in an “incident” at her country estate Gatcombe Park. She suffered a concussion. According to her medical team, the sister of King Charles III was kicked by a horse.

Princess Anne has often fallen from her horse

Princess Anne is considered a passionate and experienced rider who has been riding since early childhood. She learned at the renowned Spanish Riding School in Vienna and was a professional event rider for many years. In 1971 she became European Champion, and five years later she took part in the Summer Olympics in Montreal. Over the decades, however, she has had a number of accidents. As a 14-year-old she broke a bone in the little finger of her right hand after she accidentally got caught in the reins. In 1973, she landed on her face after a fall during the European Championships and had to abandon the competition. Three years later, she fell off her horse at a tournament and lay unconscious. “It went very well, and then I don’t remember anything. Nothing at all,” Anne said later. The incident left her with a concussion, bruises and a hairline fracture in a vertebra. None of this stopped her from getting back on the horse.

Queen Elizabeth II broke her wrist – and only noticed it a day later

Princess Anne is not alone in the British royal family in having riding accidents. Her daughter Zara Tindall, also a professional rider, broke her collarbone at a tournament in 2008. Duchess Sophie, the wife of Prince Edward, had to be hospitalized with a broken rib in 2011. A year later, her daughter, Lady Louise, broke her left arm while out riding. Queen Elizabeth II was not spared either. In 1994, she fell off her horse and continued riding despite the pain. It was not until a day later that it was discovered that she had not only suffered bruises, but a fracture of her left wrist.

The unluckiest horseman, however, is King Charles. In the 1980s, he fell from his horse while playing polo and injured his face. The wound on his cheek required six stitches. In another accident, a horse kicked him in the neck – as a result, Charles was unable to speak properly for ten days. In 1990, a polo match ended with a broken right arm. The pictures of him leaving the hospital with a noose around his neck went around the world. In the years that followed, Charles fell from his horse several times while hunting and broke a rib and a bone in his shoulder, among other things. In 2001, Charles took part in a polo tournament with his sons William and Harry. After falling from his horse, he lay unconscious on the grass. Years later, Charles revealed that Harry thought his father just wanted to rest for a short while. “But I was lying there, I had swallowed my tongue and died quietly,” said the royal. He only came to in hospital.

Princess Anne is being treated in a hospital as a precautionary measure following her accident. The palace expects her to make a quick and full recovery. Her appointments for the rest of the week have all been cancelled, including her attendance at the state banquet for Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Tuesday evening.

Sources: , ,