Princess Catharina-Amalia has returned to work after breaking her arm in a ‘immensely painful’ horse riding accident. It comes after she was rushed to hospital for surgery

 The heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Catharina-Amalia, has returned to her royal duties after breaking her arm from falling off her horse(Image: Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)

The heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Catharina-Amalia, has returned to her royal engagements just one week after undergoing surgery to fix a major injury caused by falling off her horse.

The 21-year-old princess, and keen equestrian, was rushed to hospital after she fell off her horse and broke her upper arm.

Catharina-Amalia, the eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, was taken to a hospital in the city of Utrecht, where she underwent surgery. The Dutch Palace later confirmed that the princess had suffered a “fracture to her upper arm” and was recovering in hospital.

Princess Catharina-Amalia is the eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, and heir to the Dutch throne(Image: Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)

Sporting a sling to support her injured arm, Catharina-Amalia made her return to royal duties on Wednesday, joining her father to attend the presentation of a new standard to the Princess Catharina-Amalia Hussar Regiment at the Prince Bernhard Barracks in Amersfoort.

At the royal outing, both Princess Catharina-Amalia and her father spoke with the troops and posed for a photo with the soldiers, before the King delivered a rousing speech.

The princess wore a red floral midi dress to the royal engagement, and despite the dress having long sleeves, onlookers noticed that the princess’s arm was still in a bandage, and was being supported by a sling placed around her neck. The young princess spoke to local media at the event, and admitted she would not be able to get back on her horse “anytime soon”.

The young princess revealed she would not be able to get back on her horse “anytime soon” as she continues to recover from the accident

Speaking after the accident, King Willem-Alexander spoke of his daughter’s bravery, saying: “I can say that I was very impressed by how brave she was with immense pain. And that she took it very calmly. We are very proud of her, how she got through the operation.”

While the princess does take part in occasional royal engagements as she is destined to be Queen, she is still a university student, currently studying for a degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics at the University of Amsterdam.

Despite her future as Queen, Princess Catharina-Amalia is studying politics at university(Image: Getty Images)

It is believed the young princess was living in student accommodation when she started her studies, but in 2022, she was forced to move back to the Hague after fears she could have been kidnapped by organised gangs. She was placed under heightened security due to concern that she could be targeted by criminals.

Her mother, Queen Maxima, said in a candid interview with Dutch news outlet AD at the time of the threats: “No student life for her, like other students have. I’m very proud of her and how she keeps it all going. It makes me a bit emotional. It’s not nice to see your child live like that. She can go to university, but that’s it.”

Amalia has been heir to the throne in the Netherlands since 2013 when her father King Willem-Alexander became King. She has two younger sisters Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane.