Princess Anne has revealed she still has no memory of a serious horse accident that left her hospitalised last June, stating that “every day is a bonus”.
Speaking publicly about the incident for the first time during a visit to South Africa, the Princess Royal made several candid admissions.
The 74-year-old royal spent five nights in hospital with concussion after the accident at her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.
The exact circumstances of the accident remain unknown, as there were no witnesses to the incident.
The Princess explained she had been making a “regular visit” to see her chickens when the accident occurred.
“I don’t have any idea what I was doing in the field, because I never normally went that way,” she said.
Her husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, accompanied her on the 30-mile journey to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, making multiple visits during her stay with cool-bags of her favourite foods.
The Princess Royal reflected on the severity of her accident, saying: “It just reminds you, shows you – you never quite know, something [happens] and you might not recover.”
When asked about lasting effects, she joked: “Apparently not, at least I don’t think so. As far as I know nobody else thinks so – [or] they haven’t been honest enough to tell me yet.”
She suggested she had been “very close” to losing her faculties, adding: “You’re jolly lucky if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis.”
Despite the serious nature of her accident, Princess Anne returned to her royal duties less than three weeks after being discharged, with bruising still visible on her face.
The Princess Royal, who completed 217 engagements last year to maintain her position as the hardest-working royal, firmly dismissed any suggestion of retirement.
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“It really isn’t written-in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so,” the King’s sister said when asked about stepping back from official duties.
The Princess Royal’s comments came during a two-day visit to South Africa, where she was originally scheduled to be accompanied by her husband.
However, Sir Tim Laurence was unable to make the journey after suffering a suspected torn ligament while working on the Gatcombe estate.
“Take each day as it comes, they say,” the Princess reflected during her solo visit.
