Charles breaks shoulder on fox hunt

Prince Charles is resting at home after fall

LONDON, England -- The Prince of Wales broke a bone in his shoulder after falling off his horse during a fox hunt.

Charles was thrown to the ground when his horse took an "unexpected jump" during a ride with the Mey Nell Hunt in Derbyshire on Saturday, a St James's Palace spokeswoman said.

An X-ray later revealed he had broken a small bone in his left shoulder. Doctors decided the injury would heal itself and put his arm in a sling.

The prince was said to be comfortable and not in any pain, resting back at his Gloucestershire home, Highgrove.

A St James's Palace spokesman stressed the injury was nothing more than a minor fracture to a small bone in the 52-year-old's prince's shoulder.

The accident happened mid-afternoon when the prince's horse took a high jump, unexpectedly, and tossed him to the ground.

He fell awkwardly and, at first, believed he had dislocated his shoulder.

Royal protection officers, who ride with him, drove him to the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Nottingham, where his shoulder was X-rayed.

It was at the same hospital in September 1990 that the prince received specialist treatment after he fractured his right arm in a polo fall three months earlier.

Doctors discovered he had a small fracture in the acromion, a small bone on the edge of the shoulder blade, an injury that is expected to heal itself.

The prince had no surgery but will have his left arm in a sling for a few days, St James's Palace said.

"He's fine. It was a minor injury and it's just inconvenient, that's all. He's not in any pain," a spokeswoman said.

The accident is not expected to interfere with the prince's public engagements, of which he has none in the next week.

It is understood Charles's sons, William and Harry, were riding with the Beaufort Hunt in Gloucestershire at the time.

The Prince of Wales previously broke his right arm, during a polo match in 1990.

The injury comes at a time when the Prince has been at the centre of criticism to continue to pursue his interest in fox hunting against the tide of public opinion.

The Prince of Wales

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