Princess Anne, sister of King Charles III, was discharged from hospital on Friday, five days after suffering concussion and other injuries in an accident at her country home northeast of Bristol, England.
Anne, 73, was hospitalized on Sunday following the incident, according to Buckingham Palace, which announced Anne’s discharge. Officers were vague about what happened but said they believed it involved some sort of impact on the horses on the Gatcombe Park estate. It is unclear whether Anne remembers the incident or whether they were witnesses to it.
On Monday, Buckingham Palace said Anne would make a “full and speedy recovery” and was being treated at Southmead Hospital as a “precautionary measure for further observation”. But a day later, her husband, Timothy Laurence, came to see her and admitted that her recovery, while stable, was “slow.”
Mr Lawrence said in a statement on Friday: “I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the team at Southmead Hospital for their care, expertise and kindness during my wife’s short hospital stay.”
Buckingham Palace said Anne would return to public service on the advice of her doctors, but did not provide a timetable. She postponed her visit to Canada and did not attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako.
Buckingham Palace’s decision to provide few details about Anne’s condition or prognosis is in line with its approach to the health of other senior members of the royal family, and it has begged the news media to let her recover privately. An official said she will receive standard rehabilitation care for concussion patients.
Anne was an outstanding equestrian who represented Great Britain at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Buckingham Palace said her injuries were related to strong contact with the horse’s leg or head.
Anne’s exit is another blow to the royal family, which is dealing with illness among its two most famous members, Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, both of whom have been diagnosed with cancer.
Anne is regarded as one of the hardest-working senior royals, regularly recording more than 400 official events each year. Due to the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, the number of family members has continued to decrease, and her workload has also increased. Charles and Catherine’s illnesses; and a painful family rift with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who moved to California.
