Major royal rushed to hospital for surgery after horror fall from horse

Future Queen of the Netherlands Princess Catharina-Amalia suffered a broken arm after falling from a horse and is set to undergo surgery, a statement from the Dutch Royal Palace confirmed

A future Queen has been rushed to hospital for surgery after falling from a horse, it has emerged. Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, who is heir to the throne and is known as a keen equestrian, suffered the fall that saw her rushed to hospital with a broken upper arm.

A statement from the Dutch Royal Palace said: “The Princess of Orange broke her upper arm after falling from her horse. She will undergo surgery at the UMC Utrecht. More information will follow as soon as it becomes clear what the possible consequences are for official obligations and other agreements.”

Catharina-Amalia, 21, is the eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and both were informed of their daughter’s accident. It was reported that Maxima, who was on an official engagment when she received the news about the accident, left earlier than planned.

The princess has been heir to the throne in the Netherlands since 2013 when her father King Willem-Alexander became King. She has two younger sisters Princess Alexia, who attends the same school as Princess Leonor of Spain, and Princess Ariane.

In 2022, she was forced to move out of her university accommodation after fears she could have been kidnapped by organised gangs. She was placed under heightened security due to concern that she could be targeted by criminals.

However, she isn’t the only royal in the past year to have suffered injuries as a result of a horse. Last June, Princess Anne suffered a major concussion, thought to have been caused by a horse.

The King’s sister had set out alone and on foot to feed her chickens on her Gatcombe estate in Gloucestershire before becoming involved in an incident, where she is believed to have been struck from behind by a horse, that left her concussed and badly bruised.

The Princess was rushed to hospital by ambulance and was treated as an in-patient before being discharged several days later to convalesce at home. At the time Buckingham Palace said she had been admitted “as a precautionary measure for observation”, but the princess later revealed the true horror of the accident.

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On her return to Southmead Hospital in Bristol where she was treated, Anne met paramedics and members of the critical care team who treated her at the scene, as well as those who cared for her in the ICU, which had not previously been known.

The Princess told hospital staff that it was “useful” to meet them as she was still unable to recall what happened. After touring the intensive care unit and chatting to several medics, including Morwenna Maddock, the ICU matron who oversaw her care, the Princess gave a short speech thanking them for their efforts.

“You’ve been filling in the blanks, which partly, from my perspective, is really useful to know how it happened, because I seriously don’t have any idea, and sadly, I don’t have huge memories of being in here either,” she said.

“But I just know I was really well looked after, so thank you. But whatever you did, it seemed to work…. the recovery has been relatively straightforward, thankfully. That isn’t always true, so I’m really grateful. But I’m also grateful in a weird sort of way that I remember nothing, because that has huge advantages – you can just carry on.”

On Saturday, she is expected to be seen riding in public for the first time since her accident when she takes part in Trooping the Colour, with her tipped to take part in the procession on horseback.