'You're jolly lucky': Princess Anne on retirement, and that horse accident she still cannot recall

The Princess Royal, who is often described as the "hardest working" member of the British royal family, says she has no plans to retire or slow down from her work.

"It isn't really an option, no, I don't think so," Princess Anne, 74, told The Times in a recent interview.

The royal said she feels "jolly lucky" to be able to continue her work, particularly after suffering a serious injury involving a horse on her property in June 2024, which saw her hospitalised for five nights.

READ MORE: Rare glimpse of royal residence in never-before-seen photo

"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," she said.

Her sentiments are in line with her mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who continued her work until the end, as her health would allow.

READ MORE: Prince William provides rare insight into family life

Anne, who turns 75 on August 15, is considered to be the hardest working royal in the British royal family owing to the sheer number of engagements she carries out each year.

In 2024 she carried out 395 engagements in the UK and 79 abroad, according to reports, surpassing her total for 2023 by 17.

This is despite the suspected horse accident which happened June 23, 2024. To this day the royal has no recollection of the incident.

Princess Anne was going for a walk on her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire when doctors believe she was stuck by a horse's head or hooves.

She was rushed to hospital where she spent five nights under observation at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

When she returned to duties in July with visible bruising on her face she reportedly said: "I can't remember a single thing", according to Daily Mail.

She confirmed to The Times she still remembers "nothing", not even walking into the field.

"No, don't even remember that," she said. "I know where I thought I was going and that was to go to the chickens, no, nothing to do with horses."

Seeing the chickens, she said, was: "My regular visit, I don't have any idea what I was doing in the field, because I never normally went that way."

The princess said she suffered no long-term damage.

"So far so good. You are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus really," she said.

Princess Anne recently returned from a two-day trip to South Africa. Anne would normally travel with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence however he pulled out of the trip at the last minute after suffering a "suspected torn ligament", according to Hello!

During her trip she visited Riding for the Disabled Association (SARDA) in Constantia Heights on January 21 in Cape Town, South Africa.

She also met with Anja Taschner, daughter of Ludwig Taschner of Ludwig's Roses, during a visit to the British High Commission Residence garden in Pretoria.

On January 16, The Princess Royal was presented with wings worn by test pilot Peter Wilson on the first ever landing of an F-35 plane on HMS Queen Elizabeth.

This was during her visit to Wings for Warriors, a charity training wounded, injured or sick servicemen and veterans as professional pilots at Gloucestershire Airport Training Facility in Cheltenham.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.