In the short story The Case of the Caretaker, Prince Hal is the chestnut steed which Louise Laxton's husband Harry Laxton had bought for her. Louise liked to go out riding on him but one day it bolted and threw Louisa off. She died without regaining consciousness. Witnesses reported that an old woman had stood in the way of the horse and waved her arms and shouted. Prince Hal started, swerved and then bolted down the road, flinging Louisa over his head.
It was later revealed that Mrs Murgatroyd was the one who frightened the horse but that someone had paid her to do it.