Princess Anne has made a startling admission about one of the most famous moments of her sporting career, revealing she has no memory of competing in part of the Olympic Games after suffering a serious fall.
The Princess Royal, 75, told fellow Olympians that she cannot remember the cross-country phase of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, despite the event becoming one of the defining moments of her life.
Anne became the first member of the Royal Family to compete at the Olympic Games when she represented Great Britain in the equestrian three-day event aboard Goodwill, a horse owned by her mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
However, during the demanding cross-country section of the competition, the King’s sister suffered a concussion after falling when Goodwill became stuck in mud while attempting a jump.
Speaking at a special reunion marking 50 years since the Montreal Olympics, Anne admitted the incident left her with a complete memory gap.
“I had a slight problem in that the bit I would like to remember, which is the cross country, I don’t,” she told guests.
“But every now and again I see it and think ‘oh ok’. I suspect Goodwill remembers it, but I don’t.”
Her comments prompted laughter from the audience of former Team GB athletes gathered at London’s exclusive Lansdowne Club.
At the time of the accident, Anne won widespread admiration for remounting and continuing the course despite her injuries.
Yet the princess later revealed that she had little recollection of doing so.
Reflecting on the aftermath of the fall, she previously joked: “Come on, be fair, I was put back on!”
She also memorably described the effects of the concussion by saying: “The lights were on, but there was no one at home.”
The reunion brought together athletes who represented Great Britain at both the Summer and Winter Olympics in 1976.
Addressing the gathering, Anne noted that while the milestone inevitably highlighted the passage of time, many of her former teammates looked remarkably well.
The princess described the Games as an experience she still valued despite the accident.
“It was an experience, and a lot of it was a good experience,” she said.
Anne concluded her speech by praising the enduring friendships and shared experiences created through Olympic competition.
The Princess Royal enjoyed an accomplished equestrian career long before her Olympic appearance. She won individual gold at the European Eventing Championships in 1971 and was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year that same year.
Her sporting legacy was later continued by her daughter, Zara Tindall, who won a silver medal for Team GB in eventing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Montreal Games also became a family occasion for Anne, who was watched by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and her brothers, then-Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
