In a candid interview with the Press Association on a trip to South Africa, Princess Anne reflected on a serious accident she experienced last year. The 74-year-old, who was named the hardest-working royal in 2024 for the fourth time in a row, suffered a massive health scare in June last year.
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While on her way to visit her chickens—a routine she regularly enjoys—she suffered a concussion and minor injuries, believed to have been caused by an impact from a horse. The Princess was hospitalised for five nights, reports BBC. The exact details remain unclear, even to Princess Anne herself, as she has no memory of the incident. She said:
No, nothing. I know where I thought I was going and that was to go to the chickens, no, nothing to do with horses.
Princess Anne opens up about royal retirement
Anne reflected on the incident and shared her views on the fragility of life. She remarked ‘you never quite know’ how something may happen to ‘you might not recover.’
In light of her response, Anne was asked about her potential plans to cut back on her royal duties. Her response revealed how ‘retirement’ isn’t an option for working royals. She said:
I don't think there's a retirement programme on this particular life. It really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don't think so.
Anne, who is King Charles’ right-hand woman, carried out her first public engagement when she was 18 at the opening of an educational and training centre in Shropshire in 1969, as per the Royal Family website. Since then, she has been one of the strongest pillars of the British monarchy.
Apart from the Princess Royal, there are 10 other working royals in the Firm, many of whom are well-past the age of retirement in the UK, which currently stands at 66 years old. Here's who they are:
- King Charles III, 76, has been a working royal all his adult life
- Queen Camilla, 77, has been a working royal since she married Charles
- Prince William, 42, Prince of Wales has been a working royal all his adult life
- Princess Catherine, 43, Princess of Wales has been a working royal since she married William
- Prince Edward, 60, Duke of Edinburgh has been a working royal his entire adult life
- Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, 60, became a working royal after marrying Prince Edward
- Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 80, (the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin) has been a working royal since 1972
- Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, 78, became a working royal after she wed Richard
- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 88, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, became a working royal in 1976
- Princess Alexandra, 88, (cousin of both the late Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip) has been a working royal since 1950s
Has any royal retired in the past?
While most senior royals choose not to retire, Prince Philip was one who voluntarily chose to not be a working royal in 2017. The then 96-year-old announced his retirement after decades of supporting the Queen.
A statement by Buckingham Palace said he had the Queen’s ‘full support’ in retiring and said:
His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year.
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Sources used:
BBC: Princess Anne has no memory of 2024 accident
Yahoo!: Princess Anne, 74, Opens Up About the Possibility of Retiring From Her Royal Duties
Royal website: About The Princess Royal
Women’s Weekly: The complete list of current working royals
