Princess Anne resumes duties weeks after celebrating her 74th birthday

After spending her summer with her family in Balmoral, Princess Anne is back to work. She resumed her royal duties this week with a full schedule, starting on Thursday, August 29.

Anne appeared at the opening of the newly refurbished Carloway Community Association’s Community Centre on Thursday, where she toured the upgraded facilities and met local members and volunteers.

She then visited the Ishga Organic Seaweed Skincare Company, which makes natural skincare products from Scottish seaweed. She then travelled to the Scottish town of Stornoway, where she visited Bethesda Care Home and Hospice before attending the opening of the Point and Sandwick Trust Community Hub at Old Knock School.

It follows a busy summer for Anne, who was admitted to hospital in June with concussion sustained in a horse accident at her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.

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The palace said in a statement the day after the incident that she “is expected to make a full and speedy recovery.”

“She’s doing well, slowly but surely,” her husband says. Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurenceassured reporters in June. “We are both extremely grateful to the medical team and hospital staff for their expert care — and to the emergency services who were all so wonderful at the scene.”

After canceling a number of public appearances immediately following the accident, she reappeared in public three weeks later, admitting that she had “no recollection” of her accident.

In July she travelled to France for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where she met athletes from Team Great Britain and presented medals to British swimmers and riders. Anne is a former Olympian herself, having competed in eventing at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She has also been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1988.

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The princess turned 74 on August 15 and spent her summer birthday at Balmoral Castle with Laurence, 69. More members of the royal family visited throughout the month, including Prince William, Princess Kate And Prince George.

Anne’s schedule really starts to pick up from here. In September she will represent her brother, King Charles IIIon a trip to the Netherlands to mark 80 years since the Battle of Arnhem, fought during World War II. Her appointment in place of Charles comes as the king undergoes cancer treatment, leading some to speculate about his health.

Charles assured royal followers during a public appearance in Southport on August 20, saying: “I’m not that bad.”