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The Princess Royal returned to Southmead Hospital to thank staff

The Princess Royal confirmed she was treated in the intensive care unit after sustaining head injuries and a concussion during a horse-related accident last summer.

Princess Anne, 74, returned to Southmead Hospital in Bristol on Thursday, where she thanked the medical crews who were involved in her care.

The royal, who had previously said she recalled “nothing” from the accident told staff: “You’ve been filling in the blanks, which partly, from my perspective, is really useful to know what happened because I seriously don’t have any idea and, sadly, I don’t have huge memories of being in here either. I just know I was really well looked after so thank you.

But whatever you did, it seemed to work… the recovery being relatively straightforward, thankfully. That isn’t always true so I’m really grateful.

“I’m also grateful in a weird sort of way that I remember nothing because that has huge advantages you can just carry on.”

It had not previously been known that the Princess had been treated in intensive care. At the time, Buckingham Palace said she had been admitted to hospital “as a precautionary measure for observation”.

Morwenna Maddock, the ICU matron who oversaw Anne’s care, said after the visit: “She does look incredibly well, it was lovely. It was really nice for her to come back and see the team. She very kindly thanked us all.”

Anne was on her way to see her chickens on her Gatcombe Park estate when she is thought to have been struck by a horse’s head or legs in the incident last June.

An air ambulance and emergency services were dispatched to the royal’s Gloucestershire home, and following medical care by the crew, the Princess was taken by road 30 miles to Southmead.

She spent five nights in the major hospital after the accident on June 23 and did not return to public royal duties until almost three weeks later after rehabilitation support at home.

On her trip to Cape Town, South Africa last month, Anne said of the incident: “It just reminds you, shows you – you never quite know, something (happens) and you might not recover,” before adding that “every day is a bonus”.