Princess Anne returned home on June 28 after spending a total of five days in hospital for head injuries caused by a horse last weekend.

Princess Anne of the British Royal Family. Photo: Pictrure Alliance

King Charles III ‘s only sister will remain at home for a further period of convalescence. After his wife was discharged, Sir Tim Laurence said: “I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the staff at Southmead Hospital for their care, expertise and kindness during my wife’s short stay there.”

Two days earlier, Mr Laurence had said that Princess Anne was recovering “slowly but surely” when asked by reporters outside the hospital. The 73-year-old princess will return to public duties when her doctors give her the go-ahead.

The daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip has had to cancel all of her engagements this week, including a state visit to Japan and a trip to Canada, due to her injury. Former royal butler Grant Harrold predicts that Anne will be unable to work for several weeks, which will have a “huge impact” on her mood as she is known to be the hardest-working member of the royal family.

Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence, at the event on June 17. Photo: Kirsty Wigglewworth

The princess was taken to hospital on the evening of 23 June after walking in the vast grounds of her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. She suffered bruises and head injuries from being kicked or gored by a horse. Her husband and two children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, were all at the estate when the incident occurred. Senior members of the royal family were also informed of Princess Anne’s injuries that same evening.

The injury caused temporary amnesia . However, this was not the first time she had suffered amnesia due to an accident involving a horse. At the 1975 Olympic Games in Montreal, Anne (then 26 years old) suffered a bad fall from a horse. Afterwards, she said she had “little to no memory of that day”.