Injured prince leaves hospital

The prince's sons were playing alongside him

The Prince of Wales attended his grandmother's 101st birthday celebrations hours after leaving hospital following a fall during a polo match.

The prince had spent the night recovering in Cheltenham General Hospital, Gloucestershire, after the accident on Friday.

He was knocked unconscious when his horse threw him off its back.

I am all right, thank you very much, I am still alive

Prince Charles

But a Buckingham Palace spokesman said on Saturday he had not sustained any injuries or broken bones.

As the prince left hospital at 0810BST, he smiled at bystanders and said: "I am all right, thank you very much, I am still alive."

He was then driven away, and later appeared at the Queen Mother's side as she took the salute from the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery outside Clarence House.

Sons' concern

When the accident happened on Friday, Prince Charles, 52, was playing in the Highgrove Team alongside his sons, princes William and Harry.

The prince fell awkwardly from his horse in the second chukka of the match, and was unconscious temporarily.

Prince Charles has been given the all-clear

The prince's team was winning 2-1 at the time, and the match resumed after the incident, with his groom taking his place.

An eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said that Prince Charles's team had been about to score a goal when his horse tripped.

The prince fell and the horse seemed to fall on top of him, the witness said.

Both of his sons jumped from their horses to check that their father was alright.

An ambulance was called and after a few minutes the prince was taken off the pitch.

Buckingham Palace spokesman Patrick Harrison said on Saturday that the prince had spent a "comfortable night" in a private patients' ward` hospital.

"He is fine and has been given the all-clear," he said.

"He spent the night in a standard hospital room. It is a room rather than an open ward but it is usually used by hospital patients."

Previous injuries

The polo match was the final of the Meadow Trophy in aid of several charities, including Macmillan Cancer Care, the Tetbury Hospital Trust and a kidney patient charity in Gloucester.

After the match, Prince William and Prince Harry stepped in to represent their father at a dinner he had intended to host at Highgrove.

In January, Prince Charles fractured a bone in his shoulder when he fell off a horse during a fox hunt.

In 1990 he broke his right arm quite badly in a fall during a polo match.

He needed considerable treatment over a protracted period.