Princess Anne has returned home from a five-night hospital stay after suffering 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 while walking at her Gatcombe Park estate in southwest England on Sunday.
Emergency services attended and provided medical care at the scene before she was transferred to Southmead Hospital in nearby Bristol as a “precautionary measure” for tests, treatment and observation.
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On Friday morning Buckingham Palace confirmed she had been discharged from hospital and returned home to Gatcombe Park to continue her recovery and rehabilitation.
She is not expected to return to her public duties until her medical team recommends it is safe to do so.
While the palace has been unable to establish specific details about what occurred, the continued working hypothesis is that it involved a “hard impact” from a horse’s head or legs.
A royal source said Anne, a former Olympic equestrian, had suffered a concussion and had been unable to recall what happened.
Her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 69, told reporters during a visit to see the princess at the hospital on Monday: “She’s doing fine – slow but sure.”
In a statement on Friday, he said: “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 stay.”
Anne – who is King Charles’ younger sister and the second of the late Queen Elizabeth’s four children – recently took on more duties in light of Charles’ cancer diagnosis.
– with AP/Reuters
