King Charles III, it is said, rarely speaks of a painful memory: an avalanche, in Switzerland, which cost the life of one of his loved ones. In any case, he doesn’t do it in public. But the 77-year-old British monarch, faced with mountain rescuers, returned to the tragedy. “It was very close,” he said.
While vacationing at Mey Castle, Scotland, King Charles hosted members of the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team.
It was on this occasion, in front of specialists, that he returned to the tragedy experienced almost forty years ago, in 1988, in Klosters. “King recalls surviving avalanche that killed friend,” headlined the “Times” last week.
The British daily collected the testimony of the rescue team leader, Ben Dyson. “He spoke of this avalanche while recounting the dangers inherent in the mountain. Obviously, even after all these years, this memory remains vivid,” he said. Adding that the monarch had let go, that regarding his fate at the time, “It was very close”.
The sad episode is gradually being forgotten, even though it was at the heart of one of the episodes of the series “The Crown”. However, he had hit the headlines in Switzerland and even more so in the United Kingdom.
“Charles digs with his bare hands”
On March 10, 1988, Prince Charles, 38, was on vacation in the Graubünden resort. Then an experienced skier, he set off to hit the slopes with five people. Lady Di, who is still his wife, does not accompany them. She stays at the chalet.
In the afternoon, the group left the slopes when a strong danger of avalanche was reported and, while they were at an altitude of around 1800 meters, a slide was triggered above them.
“The avalanche carries two members of the royal group and drags them approximately 450 meters,” it is reported on a dedicated page on the website of the Swiss National Museum, signed by the historian and writer Michael van Orsouw.
A Swiss, mountain guide who accompanied the British, rushes to try to locate the missing. He finds Patricia Palmer-Tomkinson, seriously injured. “He gives him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and hands a shovel to the prince, who tries to free the body further. In order not to hurt her, Charles digs with his bare hands.”
Patty Palmer-Tomkinson probably owes them her life. The young woman was seriously injured in the legs, she had a concussion but survived.
The second one disappeared? This is Major Hugh Lindsay. Rescuers found him lifeless about a hundred meters higher. This major, after a military background, had worked as a stablemaster for Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Charles had described him as a “close friend”. At 34, he left behind a pregnant wife.
Michael van Orsouw recalls that Prince Charles had been strongly criticized in the British press for his taste for risk. He had taken responsibility for leading the group off the slopes, but perhaps simply because he had immunity. A few weeks later, in any case, the Graubünden public prosecutor’s office closed the case.
A few years later, Diana said she had partly organized the repatriation and funeral of the deceased, her husband being so devastated that he was unable to do so.
