There were scenes of panic and confusion in central London on Wednesday morning after five horses belonging to a regiment closely associated with the king, the Household Cavalry, threw their riders off and bolted through the city, smashing into cars and buses, knocking down pedestrians and streaming with blood.
The Daily Telegraph said the horses, which are kept in stables in Central London near Hyde Park, bolted at about 8:40 a.m. local time during a regular exercise session on Horseguards Parade in London’s civil service district, Whitehall.
The Daily Mail said five people, including a serviceman, were injured in three separate incidents.
The horses, including a white charger which was covered in blood, were seen racing through the city, including sightings several miles east of where they first escaped.
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych.
Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images
One of the city’s main highways, Buckingham Palace Road, was closed and a first aid tent erected so that ambulance workers could attend to an injured soldier who a witness said was left screaming in pain after he fell from his horse.
Bashir Aden, 48, a construction worker, told the Telegraph: “I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police.”
“The man hit the floor hard, he was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car,” he said.
“The horses come down this route every day, but today the horse looked stressed or panicked. I saw the horse run away after it hit a bus. People were screaming and running all over. The injuries looked very serious he looked really hurt.”
Video and images online showed a black horse scattering bystanders as it charged through the city before being caught by a brave member of the public who managed to calm it down.
One horse ran into a tour bus, which was empty at the time. The City of London Police subsequently said they had recaptured all the horses.
The Household Cavalry provides the so-called Sovereign’s Escort, seen at ceremonial events such as Trooping the Color, state visits and other royal occasions.
