Princess Anne has embarked upon a royal trip to South Africa solo after her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, suffered an unexpected injury.
The couple had been planning to travel to Cape Town together on a two-day trip, but Laurence was reportedly "injured while working on [Anne's] Gatcombe estate," per Hello! magazine. According to the outlet, Laurence is recovering from a "suspected torn ligament," which requires treatment within the U.K., meaning he can't travel abroad right now.
The sudden change of plans apparently won't hinder Anne's ability to carry out her official royal duties. According to the magazine, the Princess Royal will follow brother King Charles's example by flying commercially. Once there, she will highlight "a project close to her heart" by working with the South African Riding for the Disabled Association.
Anne's international trip will also involve the unveiling of the Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial, which will "commemorate more than 1,700 predominantly Black South Africans who died in World War I between 3 and 14 August 1914 and who have no known gravesite," per Hello! magazine.
The Princess Royal's itinerary will also include a visit to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, which celebrates the work of the Nobel Prize-winning former archbishop of Cape Town.
In 2024, Princess Anne was crowned the "hardest working member of the Royal Family" for the fourth year running, after carrying out a whopping 217 official engagements. Anne managed this impressive feat in spite of suffering "minor injuries and a concussion" at her home, Gatcombe Park, Tatler reported in June 2024. Not only was King Charles's sister hospitalized following the incident, but she also endured short-term memory loss.
Luckily, Princess Anne appeared to make a full and swift recovery from her accident. "We understand that she will be discharged later on this week and hopefully will be back on a horse again in the not too distant future," royal author Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight at the time. "[B]ut this has felt like a very difficult time for the Royal Family and I think, in all of this, it highlights that, yes, they are the Royal Family—The King, The Queen, the head of state—but, also, they are just normal people."
