Princess Anne is full of surprising stories. Last Saturday, the 75-year-old member of the royal family met with some of her teammates from the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal at a reception held at Lansdowne House, a private members’ club in London, to reminisce about their time together at one of the world’s greatest sporting events.
The First Royal Olympian
Princess Anne is a remarkable figure for many reasons, among them the fact that she became the first member of the royal family to compete in the Olympic Games. Her daughter, Zara Tindall, followed in her footsteps, winning a silver medal as part of the British eventing team at the 2012 London Games. In a touching moment, the medal was presented to her by her mother.
Princess Anne shared that during her training for the Games, she suffered a fall that resulted in significant gaps in her memory. “I had a slight problem in that the bit I would like to remember, which is the cross country, I don’t,” she said. She added that her time at the Games was “an experience, and a lot of it was a good experience.”
“I do remember from my own Olympic experience the anticipation and excitement of stepping onto the Olympic stage. But also the single-minded focus on what you need to do.”
© Getty ImagesPrincess Anne’s Fall at the 1976 Games
Princess Anne’s fall resulted in a concussion. She fell from her horse, Goodwill, after the horse became stuck in the mud during the cross-country event, causing Anne to fall at the 19th fence of the course.
The fall, and her reaction to it, earned her praise from BBC commentators for her “outstanding physical courage.” It was witnessed by members of her family, including her parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and her three brothers, Prince Charles, Andrew, and Edward.
A Second Head Injury Decades Later
© PATRICK HAMILTONConcussions can result from a forceful blow to the head or a fall. In June 2024, Princess Anne suffered another concussion at her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. Her medical team reported that her injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs.
The Princess said she remembered nothing from the accident, but that it had prompted her to reflect. “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.”
In July 2025, a source close to the Princess told The Sunday Times that her accident had been far worse than was initially made public.
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