It was announced that whilst at her home on Gatcombe Park estate (in the heart of the Cotswolds), Princess Anne, 73 suffered minor injuries and concussion on Sunday evening. Reports are suggesting that this was potentially due to an accident involving a horse whilst she was out walking.
She is currently being treated in hospital and is expected to be on the mend.
Here's the official statement from Buckingham Palace: "The Princess Royal has sustained minor injuries and concussion following an incident on the Gatcombe Park estate yesterday evening. Her Royal Highness remains in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, as a precautionary measure for observation and is expected to make a full and swift recovery.
The King 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."
About Princess Anne
While she often flies under the royal radar, Princess Anne has always been admired for her straight-talking, no-nonsense approach to being a Princess, generally preferring to just get the job done quietly.
Princess Anne was born in London on 15 August 1950 in London, the only daughter and second child of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh. She was known as Princess Anne until she was given the title of The Princess Royal by The Queen in June 1987. When she was born, Princess Anne was second in line for the throne, however, since the passing of The Queen and her brother Charles becoming King, she is now 16th in the line of succession.
Although Anne will almost certainly never become Queen, she still holds an important role in the monarchy and is, arguably, one of the hardest working members of the royal family. Here’s everything you need to know about her.
She stayed with the Queen during her final hours
In a heartfelt statement, the Princess Royal opened up about being by the Queen's side during her final hours.
"I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting."
You can read her full statement here.
Princess Anne's charity work
Since the age of 18, Princess Anne has committed her life entirely to public life, often undertaking more royal engagements in a year than any other member of her family. Charity work has always been a cornerstone of her life and she continues to be involved in as many as 300 charities and organisations across the Commonwealth. She even helped to create several charities including The Carers’ Trustand has been the President of Save the Childrensince 1970.
She's a keen equestrian, just like her mother
When she’s not working, horses remain Princess Anne’s great passion in life – a love that has always been said to bring her and her mother even closer together, as she too had a love of horse racing. An expert horsewoman, many of us will remember Anne competing in the eventing team for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games making her the first ever royal Olympian. But that isn’t the only ‘first’ Princess Anne can lay claim to. She was also the first royal to appear on a TV quiz show when she starred on A Question of Sport in 1987 and the first royal to visit the Soviet Union in 1990.
Princess Anne is married to Sir Timothy Lawrence
The couple wed at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral Castle in Scotland, in December of 1992. However, she was previously married to Captain Mark Phillips in a large wedding with Lady Sarah Chatto as bridesmaid.
A mutual love of horses was at the heart of Princess Anne’s marriage to Captain Mark. The pair seemed perfect for one another. The Princess had made a name for herself in the equestrian world. She was an integral part of the British Eventing team and had won BBC Sports Personality of the Year. She first met Mark, a Lieutenant in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, at 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico and over the following few years the couple both competed at various equestrian events across the world.
They became engaged at the Badminton Horse Trials in the spring of 1973, but didn’t share their news for six weeks. Mark afterwards admitted how nervous he had been to ask Prince Phillip’s permission to wed Anne and tellingly at their engagement photocall, it was forthright Anne who did most of the talking. Their wedding took place on November 14, 1973, on her brother Charles' 25th birthday.
At the beginning, things went smoothly. Phillips was promoted to Captain and the couple continued their shared passion. They had two children together, Peter Phillips, born 1977, and Zara Tindall, born 1981. Zara, in particular, has inherited her parents’ love of horses, winning a silver medal with the British equestrian team in 2012 London Olympics. She is also married to rugby star, Mike Tindall, with the couple sharing a shared love of sport.
Over time rumors spread that the couple were increasingly living separate lives until two distinct scandals spelled the end of their marriage. Stolen private letters leaked to the press appeared to reveal a growing affection between Anne and her mother’s Equerry, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. Soon after the revelation that Mark Phillips had fathered a child outside of their marriage it spelled the end, and the couple divorced in April 1992.