Did Princess Anne win an Olympic medal and what did she compete in?

Princess Anne has competed at the Olympics and as the 2024 Games continue some fans might be wondering if she won a medal.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are about to enjoy their annual summer break in Scotland, but ahead of her own holiday, Princess Anne has been kept busy in Paris following the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Wearing a smart navy blazer, chinos and her trusty sunglasses, the Princess Royal has awarded medals to the winners of several Olympic disciplines, including the GB Women’s Quadruple Sculls on 31st July. She has left her Gatcombe Park home and travelled to France for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as a member of the International Olympic Committee, however her sporting skills are so well-known that many fans might be curious about Princess Anne’s own Olympic career. 

The Princess Royal broke royal history when she became the first British royal to compete at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada. The late Queen Elizabeth braved the rain to watch her only daughter in the Games and here we reveal whether Princess Anne won an Olympic medal and what event she competed in. 

Did Princess Anne win an Olympic medal and what did she compete in? 

Sadly, Princess Anne didn’t win either an individual or a team Olympic medal and whilst she’s now presented a fair number of them in her time to victorious athletes, including her daughter Zara Tindall, this is the closest she’s come to these prestigious awards. She was just 25 years old when she went to the 1976 Games and she was part of the British Equestrian Team and competed in the Eventing Three-Day Event. 

She rode her mother Queen Elizabeth’s horse, Goodwill, and ended up experiencing a bad fall during her competition. This shocking turn of events was discussed by the Princess Royal’s former Lady-in-Waiting, Jane Holderness-Roddam, on the 2020 ITV documentary, Anne: The Princess Royal at 70 which was released in honour of her 70th birthday.

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"What I didn’t know at the time was she had this awful fall, but she got back on and competed,” Jane alleged, as per Hello!. “She was that concussed that she couldn’t remember - and still to this day I believe can’t remember - the rest of the course."

Princess Anne herself apparently later admitted in an interview, “It was going very well and then I don’t remember anything else. Nothing at all."

Thankfully the senior royal was wearing a helmet and made a swift recovery, re-mounting her horse. Despite this frightening turn of events, she still placed 24th in the individual eventing standings at the Olympics. The rest of the Eventing Team were forced to pull out of the competition during the 1976 Games and so a Did Not Finish result was recorded.

Although Princess Anne was perhaps left disappointed that she didn’t take home a medal in the Eventing, competing at the 1976 Olympics was a huge moment for her. This was her first and her last Games as the Princess Royal never went on to compete at another Olympics. Her equestrian skills, though, have been passed down in spectacular style to her daughter Zara who secured a prestigious silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and received it from her proud mum. 

What medals does Princess Anne have?

Princess Anne might not have won an Olympic medal, but she won three throughout her equestrian career, including a coveted gold medal. She was victorious at the 1971 Burghley Three-Day Event in the European Eventing Championships and won an individual gold there. The senior royal then went on to win both individual and team silver medals in 1975 in Luhmühlen at the European Eventing Championships. 

Speaking previously to Vanity Fair, Princess Anne explained that when it came to her wanting to forge a career outside of the Royal Family, doing so in the equestrian field seemed the "best" way. However, it seems as though she "always knew" that her horse-riding career might have a "limited" timeframe.

"I thought if I was going to do anything outside of the Royal Family, horses was likely to be the best way of doing it," she said. "But then you have to find the right horse at the right time. The original horse I rode was bred as a polo pony and should never have been an event horse, but it worked, so that was very satisfying. But I always knew it was going to be limited time."

Although her equestrian career came to an end, Princess Anne’s affiliation with sport has remained strong over the years. She served as President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1987-93, and is the Honorary President of the British Olympic Association. 

The Princess Royal was also co-opted onto the IOC in 1988 and as a member of the IOC she will likely be handing out even more medals in Paris before the 2024 Olympics comes to an end on 11th August.