Charles’ lucky escape after avalanche horror
It was one of the worst days in our future King’s life – in fact, it almost ended in his death.
Prince Charles regularly took skiing holidays at Klosters in Switzerland, and he and some of his friends were skiing off piste when disaster occurred on March 10, 1988.
An avalanche sent Major Hugh Lindsay plunging 1300 feet down the mountain, killing him and seriously injuring Patti Palmer-Tomkinson.
Fortunately for Charles and several other friends and a guide, they were able to ski to safety.
When the danger had passed, they and a Swiss police officer went back to help the victims, digging into the snow with their bare hands.
Flown to hospital, the Major was declared dead as medics got to work on Patti’s serious leg injuries.
The Prince was clearly very upset, with one witness revealing he had been airlifted from the mountain and “looked very distressed, somebody said he was crying, but he did walk to the helicopter, so he looked uninjured.”
The Princess of Wales and the pregnant Duchess of York had spent the afternoon at the chalet where the rest of the party returned.
They flew home to Britain the next day with the body of 34-year-old Major Lindsay, Prince Charles issuing a statement and praising the actions of their guide.
They had been skiing on the Wang run, one of the area’s toughest.
A very experienced skier, Charles had been in love with the sport since the age of 14, and has been back to Klosters many times since, including with his sons.
The Queen was told about the tragedy during a visit to Queen’s Tennis Club in London for the centenary celebrations of the Lawn Tennis Association.
She would have been deeply upset, as Major Lindsay had been a personal favourite, having accompanied her on many official engagements.
Her Majesty sent a private message of sympathy to his widow, Sarah, an employee of the Buckingham Palace press office, who was six months’ pregnant at the time.
The group had been resting between runs when it all began as, according to Prince Charles: “The avalanche started with a tremendous roaring.”
Screamed at to: “Go, sir, go, go, go!” Charles, the guide and Charles PalmerTomkinson managed to ski out of its path.
Some openly criticised Charles, saying he had been mad to go skiing there on that day.
Thirty years on, we can say he was very lucky indeed to come out of it with his life.