King Charles has suffered several injuries throughout the years, with one polo accident leaving him with “constant pain in his neck and back,” according to a passage in Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare.
This wasn’t the only time the King found himself hurt after a game of polo, with the royal also undergoing surgery that was kept under wraps in 1990.
According to NHS nurse Gail Burbage, who treated the 42-year-old prince at the time, King Charles arrived at the hospital in Nottingham with a broken elbow following a tumble from his horse.
She shared that Charles had a three-hour operation before residing in a normal side room on the ward, with a small bay occupied by his security team and personal assistants throughout his week-long stay.
“It was an honour to care for him. He was personable and chatty – the ideal patient. Of course, we had certain protocol we had to follow but he kept it all light-hearted and made it easy for us,” Gail shared of Charles’ time in the hospital, adding they had to keep it a secret.
Charles brought his own chefs to the hospital for his stay as he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary work for the catering staff. Despite this, he was curious to sample the food – though his stay needed to be kept secret.
“I went to the ward next door to get a menu. We came up with a plan to order a meal for him using a made-up name so no one would know it was for the Prince. He ate it off the plastic trays we used at the time.
“He said it was really well-balanced,” Gail revealed, before adding: “When he was able to start moving around, he would stop and speak to everyone – nurses, doctors, porters, cleaners – he wanted to know how we operated.”
It wasn’t all fun and games though, as the royal had to take some serious painkillers, using a PCAS pump, which administers pain relief.
After his stay, Charles sent Christmas cards and gifts from Harrods to all the staff that had cared for him, and even sent a letter, which read: “I hope the bones will mend properly and allow me to, finally, escape from slings and plaster.”
He added: “Forgive me for the awful writing, but I am now trying to rediscover how to write with my right hand.”
Believe it or not, these two occasions weren’t the only time King Charles was injured while riding a horse.
The King also fractured a bone in his shoulder when he fell off a horse during a fox hunt in 2001. He was 52 at the time and was thrown to the ground when his horse took an unexpected jump during a ride in Derbyshire, according to a St James’s Palace spokeswoman.
Charles reportedly fell awkwardly and initially thought he had dislocated his shoulder. An X-ray showed he had broken a small bone on the edge of his shoulder blade, and he wore a sling for a few days.
