While Princess Anne did not attend the opening ceremony along the River Seine, she watched the events from Team GB House, as confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
Royal fans were thrilled to see her at the Stade de France on Saturday, watching the Rugby Sevens, and later presenting medals at the Men’s 100m Breaststroke final. Team GB’s Adam Peaty beamed as Princess Anne handed him his silver medal.
The two had previously met when Peaty was made an OBE at a 2022 investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The moment generated a flurry of social media comments, with one fan writing, “Aw! Lovely to see Adam Peaty being given his silver medal by the Princess Royal.” Another added, “Princess Anne came out for Adam Peaty! Silver Mens 100m Breaststroke.” A third fan noted her resilience, writing, “Princess Anne fell off her horse 2 weeks ago and here she is handing out medals. She’s tough!!”
On Monday, Anne presented Team GB’s first gold medal to the winning equestrian team of Rosalind Carter, Laura Collett, and Tom McEwen at the Chateau de Versailles.
The Princess Royal had been admitted to the hospital on June 23 following a horse-related accident at her Gloucestershire home, Gatcombe Park. She spent five nights at Southmead Hospital in Bristol before being discharged.
Her first public appearance after the incident was at an equine competition at Hartpury University and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire on July 12, where she mentioned she “can’t remember a single thing” about the accident. She was seen with a bruise under her left eye.
This is part of Anne’s phased return to royal duties, and she will have a full schedule of visits supporting British athletes over the next few weeks of competition.
She met with Team GB athletes ahead of the opening ceremony, including bearer’s rower Helen Glover and diver Tom Daley, who won a silver medal with his partner, Noah Williams, in the men’s synchronised 10m.
