Princess Anne is definitely back.
On Sunday, she made that fact crystal clear by handing out medals at the Paris Olympics, despite looking a little frail.
The British royal, who was hospitalized and withdrew from public life after being kicked or butted in the head by a horse at the end of June, has undertaken several low-profile events since she returned to work earlier this month, but her appearance at the Olympics was her first international engagement since the accident.
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Anne, who competed in horse eventing in the 1972 edition of the Games, handed out medals for swimming on Sunday.
British swimmer Adam Peaty shared silver with USA’s Nic Fink in the men’s 100m breaststroke. Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi won the race and received the gold medal from Anne.
Friends of Anne, 73, previously told the Daily Beast that she had no memory of the dramatic incident which happened at her home, Gatcombe Park. She was treated by an air ambulance at the scene before being taken to the Southmead Hospital in Bristol for further medical attention.
The friend said at the time: “It was a freak accident and she still has no memory of exactly what happened. Her family of course were deeply shaken by it at the time, but when you own horses these things happen, and it seems it is a case of all’s well that ends well.”
Anne is often cited as the U.K.’s hardest-working royal, undertaking around 500 public engagements per year.
A journalist from the Daily Telegraph who recently spent a week shadowing Anne estimated that she shook hands with almost 700 people and traveled over 800 miles.
Her daughter, Zara, who is married to former rugby player Mike Tindall, is said to have seen the accident as “a huge wake-up call” for the family, but friends have also told the Daily Beast that Anne would not respond well to requests to slow down.
