The Bristol hospital where the Princess Royal is being treated

It is believed that Anne, an Olympic-medal winning horsewoman, was kicked by a horse on her Gloucestershire estate on Sunday evening.

Buckingham Palace confirmed she was taken to Southmead Hospital “as a precautionary measure for observation and is expected to make a full and swift recovery”.

Southmead Hospital is part of the North Bristol NHS Trust and has a number of major specialities, including neuroscience.

The Institute of Neurosciences is based in the hospital’s Brunel building and is a regional centre providing specialised services for a wide spectrum of neurological conditions.

Southmead Hospital is also home to the only adult major trauma centre (MTC) in the The Severn Major Trauma Network (SMTN).

The centre works alongside six other units based across the South West.

The hospital’s orthopaedic department comprises The Avon Orthopaedic Centre, one of the largest centres of its kind in the region which carries out an estimated 1,000 knee replacements a year.

Elsewhere, North Bristol NHS Trust is a centre of excellence in the South West for plastic and reconstructive surgery, with the service at Southmead Hospital among one of the largest in England.

Its core specialities include burns, skin cancer and breast reconstruction among others.

Southmead Hospital was given an overall rating of “good” from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after its latest inspection in November 2023.