Royal suffers horror fall and breaks both wrists after 'shock' health battle

It has been revealed that a member of the Firm tripped while at her Kensington Palace home and suffered painful injuries that have left several everyday tasks 'impossible'

The Royal Family has had its fair share of health challenges in 2024 - and yet another member of the Firm has revealed hers.

Princess Michael of Kent has told how she has been left with two broken wrists after a fall at her Kensington Palace home. The 79-year-old had been carrying a pile of coats when she tripped and fell. The royal, who is married to Prince Michael of Kent - a cousin of the late Queen - used her hands to then break her fall but then broke multiple small bones in her wrists. In an interview to mark her upcoming 80th birthday, she revealed how the painful accident had affected her everyday life.

She said: "So many things that you rely on being able to do, like cleaning your teeth, are impossible. I can type with one finger on a mobile, but I can't use a laptop. I am told that, after an accident like this, if you do one wrong movement on top of the unhealed bones, you are back where you started."

The accident comes after Princess Michael, an author, revealed in the same chat that at the end of last year, she was diagnosed with a heart condition that required surgery. She told Majesty magazine: "It shocked me. I still have to rest every afternoon."

The royal and her husband, 82, are parents to two children - son Lord Frederick Windsor and daughter, Lady Gabriella Windsor. Lady Gabriella suffered tragedy earlier this year when her husband Thomas Kingston died suddenly in February.

An inquest found that he had died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound after suffering an adverse effect to medication prescribed by his doctor. During the inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court on Lady Gabriella, 43, said people need to be warned about the effects of medications used to treat mental health conditions or more people could die.

Princess Michael also opened up about her son-in-law's shock death saying "we never had an inkling anything was wrong". She also described how Thomas was a "lovely man, so kind and thoughtful" and said that the whole family had rallied around Lady Gabriella, especially her brother Freddie and his wife Sophie.

It comes as the princess, her husband, her children and her grandchildren were all seen yesterday entering Buckingham Palace for the Royal Family's traditional pre-Christmas lunch hosted by the King.

Prince and Princess Michael were seen in a car heading to the palace as were Freddie, Sophie and their two daughters as well as Gabriella. The guestlist also included the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice with her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Eugenie with her husband Jack Brooksbank.

However, the Prince and Princess of Wales were not at the lunch. A royal source said William and Kate were in Norfolk, as had been planned, and were looking forward to spending time with the rest of the royal family at Sandringham over Christmas. The Buckingham Palace lunch is a private event for senior royals and their wider family who will not be attending Christmas celebrations at the King’s Norfolk home.

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