15 Instances of Royals Enduring Painful Injuries

It seems the royals are just like us – a little bit accident-prone!

With the family growing up riding horses, going on ski holidays, and playing team sports at school, such injuries are expected.

Just earlier this week, Queen Camilla was spotted wearing a support bandage on her foot during a whirlwind trip to the Channel Islands with her husband King Charles. The Queen, 77, had reportedly suffered an ankle sprain.

And last month, Princess Anne was involved in a horse-related incident that left her with head injuries and a concussion. “I can’t remember a single thing about it,” she admitted.

As she stepped out in Guernsey on the second day of her whirlwind tour of the Channel Islands, Camilla wore a tight bandage around her right ankle, after reportedly suffering a sprain.

Despite her injury, the Queen, who looked typically elegant in a royal blue coatdress and low-heeled Chanel pumps, happily carried on with engagements and greeted members of the public during a walkabout.

Anne was involved in a horse-related incident that left her with head injuries and a concussion while out walking in her home, Gatcombe Park; she spent five days in hospital in Bristol as a result.

Her medical team said the injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse’s head or legs, although Anne admitted, “I can’t remember a single thing about it,” as she carried out her first engagement post-hospitalisation.

As she attended the Riding for the Disabled Association’s National Championships at Hartpury University and Hartpury College, Anne, 73, still sported a slight bruise under her left eye.

Kate is often seen with plasters on her fingers, which is unsurprising for a hands-on mum. During a visit to HMP High Down prison in September 2023, she sported double plasters on her right hand.

“My own fault,” Kate said during the visit. “I was jumping around on the trampoline.” Gesturing to the strapping, she added: “I did put it on just to keep it safe.”

Similarly, Meghan was seen sporting a plaster around her middle finger during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tour of Australia and New Zealand in October 2018.

This could’ve come from a number of the activities Meghan engaged with on her trip, including tree planting, cooking, and even welly throwing.

Princess Beatrice was spotted with a painful-looking injury on the side of her ankle, when she attended Lady Gabriella Windsor and the late Thomas Kingston’s wedding in Windsor in May 2019.

The cause of the bruise was unknown, but it appeared to have happened just a few days before the nuptials.

In 1999, Prince William donned a sling while attending the christening of his godson, Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece, in London. Aged 16, William was recovering from surgery on a broken finger but was in high spirits as he chatted with his fellow guests.

King Charles, then Prince Charles, injured himself during a polo match in Cirencester, Gloucestershire in the summer of 1990. He was seen leaving Cirencester Hospital after doctors bandaged his broken arm and placed it in a sling.

In 1994, the late Queen fashioned a sling into the ultimate accessory, supporting her broken wrist with a stylish blue silk scarf that perfectly matched her coat and hat. The late monarch damaged her wrist in a riding injury.

After falling off her horse during a three-day event for the European Championships in Kiev in 1973, Princess Anne was seen pairing her funky waistcoat with a makeshift sling to support her sprained wrist.

While Zara has suffered various horse-related injuries over the years, including being knocked unconscious during an international competition in 2004, the Olympic equestrian was left with minor facial injuries after a car accident in 2000. Aged 19, she overturned her Land Rover in Gloucestershire while driving on a lane between Bourton-on-the-Water and Ford.

At the time, a police spokesperson said: “She suffered minor facial injuries but did not require medical treatment.”

As a rugby player, Zara’s husband Mike Tindall has experienced more than his fair share of painful injuries. But in 2008, the sportsman sustained serious internal damage after a horrifying accident left him writhing in pain during a match at Twickenham. Mike was forced to take a rest from the sport, retiring to Gloucestershire to walk his dogs and spend time with his family.

After breaking her left leg during a walking trip at Balmoral in 2010, the Queen had to use a wheelchair. However, the royal didn’t let her injury stop her from attending her royal engagements, allowing her husband King Charles to push her around in her chair.

The Princess of Wales is famous for her glossy locks, but Kate often styles her hair to disguise a large scar on her head. The inconspicuous scar along her hairline was confirmed by the palace to come from a childhood operation and matches her husband’s own forehead mark, which the Prince jokingly calls his Harry Potter scar.

In 2001, King Charles was forced to wear a makeshift eye patch during his public outings. The monarch got a large amount of dust in his eye while sawing a tree in his garden, requiring him to undergo hospital treatment.

The late Queen rarely took time off from her royal duties during her reign, but even she wasn’t immune to the occasional injury. In 2003, she was admitted to hospital for keyhole surgery after tearing the cartilage in her right knee on a walking trip. In recovery, Her Late Majesty used crutches to get around and later in the year she underwent the same operation on her left knee.

Source: HELLO!