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Princess Anne reveals she is ‘deeply saddened’ to miss out on First World War commemoration event in Canada as she continues to recover after being ‘hit on the head by a horse’
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.
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.