Prince Charles was released from Cheltenham General Hospital on Saturday morning following a fall from his horse during a polo match on Friday. “I’m all right, thank you very much,” said the heir to the throne. “I’m still alive.”
The Prince was knocked unconscious briefly on Friday during a charity polo match in Cirencester. “He passed out for about 30 seconds but then came round,” said one onlooker. “All of the players jumped off their horses and went running,” reported another.
Princes William and Harry saw the accident, and were said to be a bit shaken up by the frightening turn of events. “Charles was lying on the ground on his back,” said one polo fan who saw the accident. “An ambulance pulled up in front of him and his four bodyguards all ran forward. It took about two minutes for the ambulance to come and he was carried on to it on a stretcher.”
The Prince of Wales was taken to nearby Cirencester Hospital before being transferred to Cheltenham General, where he spent the night in a private ward as a precautionary measure. “He is fine and has been given the all-clear,” reports a spokesman for Buckingham Palace. “He has no injuries as such or broken bones.” The Prince, who joined the Queen Mother to celebrate her 101st birthday, had his arm put in a sling to heal a small fracture.
Charles was due at Highgrove on Friday for a 200-person celebrity dinner to mark a new garden at the country estate, however he was forced to miss the event. Prince William read aloud a speech his father had faxed him from hospital, addressing the likes of supermodel Claudia Schiffer. “What a wally I am,” wrote Charles. “You are all having great fun while I am lying in a hospital bed.”
This is not the first time the 52-year-old prince has been injured in play. In June 1990 he suffered two fractures in his right arm after falling and being kicked by his horse.
The Friday afternoon match was stopped for nearly half an hour before players, including William and Harry, returned to the field to complete the match.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
