Princess Anne today said she was ‘deeply saddened’ to miss out on the First World War commemoration event in Canada as she continues to recover after being struck by a horse.
The 73-year-old Princess Royal suffered concussion and head injuries when she was hurt at her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire more than a week ago.
The King’s sister is now recuperating at her Gatcombe Park home following a five-night hospital stay after she was believed to have been struck by the animal while out walking on June 23.
Anne was due to travel to Canada for an overseas tour on Sunday, but is now away from public engagements until her medical team recommends it is safe and comfortable for her to resume official duties.
The princess said she was ‘deeply saddened that I’m unable to join you’ in remarks read out on her behalf by Canada’s governor general Mary Simon in St John’s, Newfoundland.
Princess Anne is ‘deeply saddened’ to miss out on the First World War commemoration event in Canada as she continues to recover after being struck by a horse (Pictured in May arriving at the Bayeux War Cemetery to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lays wreath at the National War Memorial and Tomb of an Unknown Soldier in St John’s, Newfoundland today
The ceremony on July 1 – Canada Day – saw the repatriation of the remains of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier from the battlefields of northern France.
The King’s sister praised the ‘brave efforts and sacrifices’ of the soldiers who fought on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, one of the war’s largest and bloodiest offensives.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Newfoundland National War Memorial – where the unknown soldier’s remains were being laid to rest, entombed on the plateau of the memorial.
Anne is Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The princess, who left hospital on Friday, said in her first publicly-released message since her accident: ‘It is with deep regret that I am unable to be with you today, as you commemorate the brave efforts and sacrifices of the members of the Newfoundland Regiment who went into battle on the first day of the Somme.
‘I have fond memories of joining you in 2016, on the 99th occasion that the people of this island commemorated the Battle of Beaumont Hamel, and I am deeply saddened that I’m unable to join you again, and I send you my warmest best wishes on this special day of commemoration.’
The Newfoundland Regiment was all but wiped out in the disastrous Battle of Beaumont Hamel on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, with more than 700 killed or wounded of the 800 fighting.
It is not known how long the princess will spend recovering, but she is receiving rehabilitation support at home as she follows standard concussion protocols.
Princess Anne missed eight engagements in the UK last week as well as the visit to Canada
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence leaves Southmead Hospital on after visiting his wife on June 25
Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall arrives at Southmead Hospital to visit her on June 25
Anne’s medical team said her head injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs but her concussion has meant precise details of how the incident came about are not clear.
An air ambulance was scrambled to take the princess to hospital, but in the end she travelled by road after being treated by an emergency crew on site.
She was treated at Southmead Hospital in Bristol for minor head injuries and her concussion.
Her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence said last week that the princess was ‘recovering slowly’.
In Canada, the Governor General has read some remarks by The Princess Royal at a ceremony which marks the centenary of the Newfoundland National War Memorial and repatriation of the remains of an unknown Newfoundland soldier from the First World War battlefields of northern France.
Remarks: ‘It is with deep regret that I am unable to be with you today, as you commemorate the brave efforts and sacrifices of the members of the Newfoundland Regiment who went into battle on the first day of the Somme.
‘I have fond memories of joining you in 2016, on the 99th occasion that the people of this Island commemorated the Battle of Beaumont Hamel, and I am deeply saddened that I’m unable to join you again, and I send you my warmest best wishes on this special day of commemoration’.