The future queen of the Netherlands underwent surgery to repair a fracture to her upper arm after she was hospitalized during a horseback-riding accident, the Dutch royal family said.
Princess Catharina-Amalia, the 21-year-old heir to the Dutch throne and daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, broke her arm after being thrown from her horse on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Dutch Royal Palace confirmed that Catharina-Amalia, who is known as Princess of Orange, will remain under the watchful eye of doctors and nurses at UMC Utrecht this week.
“The surgery went well,” the palace said in a statement. “She will remain in the UMC Utrecht for monitoring until tomorrow.”
The royals have been forced to hit the brakes on their busy schedule as several engagements have been postponed to a later date.
Among the postponed events is a summer photo session that was scheduled for Thursday at Paleis Huis ten Bosch, the official residence of the Dutch royal family.
The photo session has been rescheduled for June 30 to allow time for the princess’s recovery.
Additionally, Queen Máxima has canceled her planned appearance at the CGAP Congress in Amsterdam on Wednesday evening, leaving King Willem-Alexander to attend the opening of the Holland Festival alone.
On Tuesday, the Dutch palace issued an official statement following the royal’s injury.
“The Princess of Orange broke her upper arm today after falling from her horse. She will undergo surgery at the UMC Utrecht,” an English translation of the statement said.
The heiress to the throne is a keen horsewoman, and the palace’s official website displays photos of Amalia riding her horse Mojito.
The incident is similar to the one Princess Anne suffered last year.
The Princess Royal, 74, spent a total of five days in the hospital with head injuries following a horse-related incident last June.
The ordeal has left her with minor wounds to the head, which are consistent with impact from a horse’s head or legs.
The royal — who is King Charles’ only sister — was concussed and experienced subsequent memory loss after she was struck by a horse on the grounds of her Gatcombe Park estate.
Speaking about the ordeal the following month, Anne told the BBC, “It just reminds you, shows you — you never quite know, something [happens] and you might not recover.”
The princess added that the experience taught her that “every day is a bonus.”
“You’re jolly lucky…if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis, and last summer I was very close to not being. Take each day as it comes, they say.”
It’s not the first time Anne has experienced memory loss as a result of a horse-related incident.
At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal — at which she represented Great Britain — the then-26-year-old suffered a bad jump that prompted her to fall.
She later described her memory as “almost nonexistent for that day.”
Anne — who is often regarded as one of the hardest-working royals within the Firm — is expected to ride horseback at the Trooping the Colour ceremony Saturday alongside Prince William and Prince Edward.
