(London) Princess Anne, sister of King Charles III, is recovering “slowly”, her husband Tim Laurence said on Wednesday, after visiting her in hospital where she is under observation following a blow to the head that was reportedly caused by a horse.
Announcing his hospitalization, the third this year for a member of the royal family, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that the incident had taken place the day before in his country residence in Gatcombe Park (west London). The 73-year-old princess, who is very popular in England, had been taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, around 50km away, known for its trauma centre.
“The princess is recovering well,” added a Palace spokesperson.
“She is slowly recovering,” said Tim Laurence, who visits her every day, on Wednesday. “She’ll come out when she’s ready,” he added, declining to speculate.
According to his doctors, his “minor” head injuries would be consistent with the impact of a horse, head or legs.
Princess Anne, who has the title Princess Royal, is the most active member of the royal family with hundreds of engagements per year. She carried more last year than King Charles, and the sovereign’s cancer, like that of Princess Kate, has further increased her burden this year.
After her hospitalization, she had to cancel her participation in the state banquet organized Tuesday evening at Buckingham Palace in honor of the Emperor of Japan Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako.
She also canceled a trip to Canada planned for the weekend.
Appreciated for her sense of duty and her outspokenness, the only daughter of Elizabeth II is more popular than the king according to a recent YouGov poll.
Anne is a high-level rider, and even represented her country at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976.
She has two children, Peter and Zara, from her first marriage to equestrian Mark Philipps, and five grandchildren. After her divorce in 1992, she married Commander Timothy Laurence, former equerry to Queen Elizabeth, nine months later.