Princess Anne's horse accident 'so much worse than public knew' as friend admits truth

Princess Anne is set to celebrate her 75th birthday next month, and while the hardest working royal shows no sign of slowing down, a serious incident last year reminded her that life is precious.

The Princess Royalwas rushed to intensive care with a concussion last June following a serious incident with a horse at her home in Gloucestershire. She was treated for head injuries and has since admitted that she "can't remember a thing" from the accident.

Anne had set out alone and on foot to feed her chickens before becoming involved in an incident, where she is believed to have been struck from behind by a horse, that left her concussed and badly bruised.

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In an interview back in January, Anne revealed the stark realisation she had after the incident: "It just reminds you, shows you — you never quite know, something [happens] and you might not recover.

"You're jolly lucky … if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis and last summer I was very close to not being. Take each day as it comes, they say. You are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus really."

And now a source close to Anne has revealed the true toll of her accident, claiming it was far worse than the public knew. They told The Times: "Her accident was so much worse than anyone let on and it took quite a while for her to feel herself again."

The devoted royal went back to work three weeks after the incident, nursing a bruised left eye and face, covered by heavy makeup. Her brave return to duties saw Prince William and Princess Kate write a rare personal message on social media nodding to her tireless dedication. "Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon. W&C x," they wrote.

Last month she returned to horseback riding in public for the first time at King Charles' birthday event, Trooping the Colour. Anne joined the parade wearing the traditional Blues and Royals mounted uniform in her role as gold stick in waiting. She was was joined on horseback by Prince Edward and Prince William.

Anne's steed for the day was Noble, a horse that she rode in the parade last year, who earned a reputation for being 'naughty' after Charles had to control her at Trooping in 2023.

The new details about Anne's accident come after she returned to the intensive care unit where she was treated to "fill in the blanks" and thank medics for her care.

The Princess Royal spent five nights at Southmead Hospital in Bristol following the incident. On her return to the hospital in February, Anne met paramedics and members of the critical care team who treated her at the scene, as well as those who cared for her in the ICU, which had not previously been known.

The Princess told hospital staff that it was "useful" to meet them as she was still unable to recall what happened.

After touring the intensive care unit and chatting to several medics, including Morwenna Maddock, the ICU matron who oversaw her care, the Princess gave a short speech thanking them for their efforts.

You've been filling in the blanks, which partly, from my perspective, is really useful to know how it happened, because I seriously don't have any idea, and sadly, I don't have huge memories of being in here either," she said.

"But I just know I was really well looked after, so thank you. But whatever you did, it seemed to work…. the recovery has been relatively straightforward, thankfully. That isn't always true, so I’m really grateful.

"But I'm also grateful in a weird sort of way that I remember nothing, because that has huge advantages - you can just carry on."