Princess Anne in hospital with 'minor injuries' and concussion after incident at royal estate

Princess Anne has been admitted to hospital as a "precautionary measure" after an incident at her Gatcombe Park home, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The Princess Royal is currently in hospital after sustaining minor injuries and concussion at her royal estate in Gloucestershire. As reported by the BBC, Buckingham Palace confirmed this news on 24th June and added that she is expected to make a full and swift recovery. She is in Southmead Hospital in Bristol as a "precautionary measure for observation" and King Charles has been kept "closely informed" about his sister’s health. 

He "joins the whole Royal Family in sending his fondest love and well-wishes to the Princess for a speedy recovery", the statement continued. 

It’s not known what the cause of Princess Anne’s injuries was, though it’s understood that she was injured whilst out walking on her estate. Her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips were on the estate at the time and Sir Timothy accompanied her to hospital. 

The Princess Royal was set to undertake an overseas visit to Canada in a few days’ time, however this has now reportedly been postponed. She’s expected to stay in hospital until later this week and this incident comes just a few days after she was last seen in public at Ascot. 

Known for her love of horses, the King’s sister had a distinguished equestrian career and attended Royal Ascot on Days 1, 2 and 3 this year. She looked to have thoroughly enjoyed watching the races and whilst these were public appearances they were a well-deserved break from her packed schedule of official engagements.

Princess Anne has consistently been one of the hardest working members of the Royal Family and has stepped up even more to support King Charles since he ascended the throne. She has been an integral part of his inner circle and His Majesty has shown his immense respect and admiration for her in several very significant ways as monarch.

Whilst Princess Anne doesn’t have security full-time and is still only 17th in the royal line of succession, King Charles requested for her to become an additional Counsellor of State in 2022. He did the same for Prince Edward and they joined Queen Camilla and the first four royals over the age of 21 in the succession in being able to be appointed to act in His Majesty’s place if he’s temporarily unable to undertake his duties due to circumstances like him being ill or abroad.

The Princess Royal also had a prominent position in the group coronation photo taken by Hugo Burnand last year. Speaking to MailOnline at the time, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams claimed that Princess Anne standing next to King Charles was "no accident".

"Princess Anne's proximity to the sovereign, that's no accident. She's experienced and hard-working. Anne's been at it a long long time, she knows the ropes," he alleged. "The King knows how popular she is, so it's no accident his sister is next door to him. It shows much how much he appreciates her and how much he will be relying on her, she is extremely popular and has a high profile. People know who she is and respect her, that's very important."

She is such an important member of the Royal Family, with her strong work ethic and no-nonsense approach and fans will no doubt be joining King Charles with wishing her a speedy recovery.