Princess Anne Flies to Paris for Olympic Meeting in Her First Trip Abroad Since Hospitalization

Princess Anne is saying "bonjour" to France for her first job abroad four weeks after she was injured in a horse-related "incident" at home.

King Charles' sister, 73, stepped out in Paris on July 23 for the first day of the 142nd International Olympic Committee (IOC) session before the 2024 Summer Olympics begin on July 26. The meeting is the general convention for members of the IOC, and Princess Anne isn't the only royal involved. Prince Albert of Monaco, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, PrincessNora of Liechtenstein, Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck of Bhutan and Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia are all members of the group.

Princess Anne was focused in her seat at the meeting, which marked her first work trip outside of the U.K. since she sustained a concussion and minor injuries in an accident at her Gatcombe Park home on June 23. Her travel plans to France were confirmed by a July 22 entry in the Court Circular, the official record of engagements for members of the British royal family.

"The Princess Royal this evening departed from Heathrow Airport, London, for France and was received upon arrival later at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, by His Majesty's Ambassador to the French Republic (Her Excellency Dame Menna Rawlings)," read the message.

Princess Anne, who is often cited as the "hardest-working" member of the royal family by her count of official engagements, has a special connection to the Olympics as a former competitor.

Queen Elizabeth's daughter made modern royal history when she competed for Team Great Britain in the equestrian events at the Montreal Summer Olympics in 1976, becoming the first member of the British royal family to participate in the global sporting event. The Princess Royal stayed connected to the competition, serving as the President of the British Olympic Association since 1983 and taking on her first administrative role with the IOC in 1990.

Princess Anne traveled to France amid her gradual return to royal duties after she was injured in an accident in late June.

On June 24, Buckingham Palace announced that she sustained a concussion and minor injuries in an "incident" at Gatcombe Park the day prior, resulting in her hospitalization.

The exact details of the accident are unable t -

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o be ascertained because of the concussion that Princess Anne sustained. However, her injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse's head or legs.

Princess Anne was forced to clear her calendar immediately after the incident, and a palace spokesperson confirmed she would not be at the Buckingham Palace banquet King Charles threw on June 25 to celebrate the Japanese state visit. Her trip to Canada later that week was also called off, following medical advice.

The King's sister left Southmead Hospital in Bristol on June 28 and returned to royal duties on July 12 with an equestrian-related outing. The Princess Royal made her comeback with a visit to the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships at Hartpury University and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, where she shared that she has no recollection of what happened.

Helena Vega Lozano, chair of RDA UK, said that Princess Anne mentioned, "I can’t remember a single thing about it," referring to the accident, the Daily Mail reported.

Days later, the royal canceled a trip to Scotland where she was due to visit a lighthouse tender on July 22 and 23.

Royal aides said that because of the long distances from her home in Gloucestershire, it wasn't possible for Princess Anne to head north at that time.

While it's unclear if Princess Anne will attend events when the Paris Olympics officially begin on July 26, her daughter, Zara Tindall, won't be saddling up to compete as she has in years past. The pro rider, 42, wasn't listed on the roster for Team GB after Vogue Australia reported in 2022 that Zara was training for the 2024 Games.

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Princess Anne memorably presented Zara with a silver medal in eventing at the London 2012 Olympics, and Zara previously told PEOPLE that there's always horse conversation between her and her mom.

"Our horses are in our family, so there's always discussions about performances and things like that. There's horses in her life and she does a bit of breeding as well. So there's always horse conversation going on," Zara said at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April 2023.

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