Princess Alexia of Holland had to be airlifted to the hospital on Saturday after suffering a nasty fall while on a family ski holiday in Lech, Austria. The 10-year-old royal was taken by the University hospital of Innsbruck, a medical center that specializes in ski accidents, by helicopter.

A spokesperson for the royal family said. “She was immediately taken by helicopter to a hospital, where the fracture was found on the right thigh.” Surgery was performed on the little girl soon after she arrived at the hospital.

The middle child of King Willem-Alexander and Maxima has since been released since the weekend accident.

Princess Alexia (far left) fractured her right thigh bone in a skiing accident Photo: Getty Images

The operation was successful and without complications, but the young girl “will have to work on her rehabilitation and will have to walk with crutches while she recovers.”

Prior to the accident Alexia and her sisters happily posed for photos with their parents and grandmother on the slopes. The Princess was spotted making a snowball and throwing it as far as she could, as her sisters laughed.

Prior to the accident the family were happy to pose for photos on the slopes of the ski resort in Lech Photo: Getty Images

The skiing holiday is an annual trip for the Dutch royals, and served as a well-deserved break for Queen Máxima, who carried out a number of official engagements during a royal tour of Pakistan earlier this month.