Princess Anne Makes Emotional Stop at Hospital Where She Was Treated After Horse Accident to Thank Staff

Mar. 15, 2025

Princess Annemade a special visit to the hospital where she was treated after ahorse-related accidentto thank the staff who looked after her.

On Feb. 6, the Princess Royal, 74, returned to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, England, where she spent five days in June 2024 due to an injury. Buckingham Palace announced on June 24 thatKing Charles' sister “sustained minor injuries and concussion following an incident on the Gatcombe Park estate,” her country home, the day prior, and was hospitalized at Southmead “as a precautionary measure for observation.” The palace said at the time that Princess Anne was “expected to make a full and swift recovery,” and she wasdischarged followinga five-day stay.

Princess Anne at Southmead Hospital on Feb. 6, 2025.Ben Birchall - WPA Pool/Getty

Princess Anne, Princess Royal meets clinicians during a visit to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, to thank the team of doctors, nurses and health professionals who treated her following her accident in June 2024, on February 6, 2025 in Bristol, England.

Ben Birchall - WPA Pool/Getty

Southmead Hospital is about an hour drive from Gatcombe Park, Princess Anne’s private home where the accident happened. The hub is esteemed as the regional specialist intensive care unit for major trauma, neurosciences, hyperacute stroke unit, renal medicine, vascular surgery, urology, plastic surgery, burns and infectious diseases, a palace statement said.

Princess Anne at Southmead Hospital on Feb. 6, 2025 in Bristol, England.Ben Birchall - WPA Pool/Getty

Princess Anne, Princess Royal (R) is greeted by Maria Kane, the Joint Chief Executive of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, as she arrives for a visit to Southmead Hospital, to thank the team of doctors, nurses and health professionals who treated her following her accident in June 2024, on February 6, 2025 in Bristol, England.

Princess Anne, Princess Royal speaks with the choir at Southmead Hospital in Bristol during a visit to thank the team of doctors, nurses and health professionals who treated her following her accident in June 2024, on February 6, 2025 in Bristol, England.

Immediately after the accident,The Telegraphreported that Anne wassuffering memory loss, thought to be temporary, related to what happened. Shereturned to workin July in a gradual resumption of royal duties, and theDaily Mailreported that Princess Anne said then, “I can’t remember a single thing” about the accident.

During a solo trip to South Africa in January, Anne said again that she hadno memoryof the incident.

“I know where I thought I was going and that was to go to the chickens — no, nothing to do with horses,” Princess Anne told PA, theBBCreported.

Princess Anne at the South African Riding School for the Disabled Association in South Africa on Jan. 21, 2025.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

The Princess Royal strokes a horse in the stables during a visit to the South African Riding School for Disabled Association (SARDA) while on her two-day to trip to South Africa. Picture date: Tuesday January 21, 2025.

Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

The princess said that seeing the chickens was “my regular visit, I don’t have any idea what I was doing in the field, because I never normally went that way.”

“It just reminds you, shows you — you never quite know, something [happens] and you might not recover,” the royal reflected.

“You are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus really,” she mentioned elsewhere in the interview.

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Kate Middleton and Katherine Field at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London on Jan. 14, 2025.Chris Jackson/Getty

Catherine, Princess of Wales talks with Katherine Field during a visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital on January 14, 2025 in London, England.

Chris Jackson/Getty

On Jan. 14, the Princess of Wales made anemotional visitto the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, which came with the confirmation that she previously received treatment there during her cancer journey.

Princess Kate, 43, was outside of the public eye for most of 2024 after sharing last March that she was undergoingtreatment for cancer. She said in September that shecompleted chemotherapyand relayed on Jan. 14 that she isin “remission.”

source: people.com