Princess Anne speaks with guests as she attends an annual Commonwealth Day service ceremony at Westminster Abbey, in London, on March 11.Henry Nicholls/Reuters
Princess Anne is recovering well in hospital, her husband said on Tuesday, after King Charles’ younger sister suffered a head injury thought to have been caused by a horse.
Anne, 73, the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth, suffered minor injuries and a concussion during the incident on Sunday at Gatcombe Park estate in west England where her home is located, and was taken to hospital in nearby Bristol.
“She is recovering well, thank you,” her husband Tim Laurence told a well-wisher during a visit to see the princess at the hospital.
“We are both profoundly grateful to the medical team and hospital support staff for their expert care – and to the emergency services who were all so wonderful at the scene.
“We are both deeply touched by all the kind messages we have received from so many people near and far. It means a great deal.”
Buckingham Palace said Anne had been kept in hospital as a precautionary measure, but was expected to make a full recovery.
A royal source said the injuries she had sustained were consistent with impact from a horse’s head or legs.
The princess is expected to return home this week, but her upcoming engagements have been postponed and Anne will not fly to Canada as planned at the end of the week, the source said.
It also means she will be absent from the state banquet which is being held on Tuesday at the palace in honour of the visit of Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife.