King Charles has revisited a frightening chapter from his past during a recent royal engagement in Scotland. The conversation surfaced while he was meeting volunteers whose work regularly takes them into dangerous terrain. Nearly four decades later, the memory appears to remain vivid for the monarch. His brief reflection connected a deeply personal loss with the risks mountain rescuers continue to face today.
King Charles reflected on his narrow escape while hosting Scottish rescue workers
King Charles received members of the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team at the Castle of Mey in Caithness on Aug. 1, according to the Royal Family’s official Court Circular. The team was marking its 50th anniversary.
Team leader Ben Dyson later told The Times that Charles brought up the 1988 avalanche while discussing the hazards of the mountains. Dyson recalled the King saying, “It was a close thing,” and said the experience gave him insight into the value and danger of mountain rescue work.
King Charles’ near-death experience dates back to March 10, 1988, when the then-Prince of Wales was skiing off-piste near Klosters, Switzerland. An avalanche struck his group, killing close friend Major Hugh Lindsay and seriously injuring Patti Palmer-Tomkinson.
Charles escaped injury and joined others in trying to dig Lindsay out of the snow. Buckingham Palace also said at the time that Charles was unhurt. Lindsay, a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth II, was taken to a hospital in Davos, where he was pronounced dead.
The Klosters ski accident occurred during a royal vacation. Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were also on the trip but were at their chalet when the avalanche struck, according to People. The incident later returned to public attention when Netflix’s The Crown dramatized it. Lindsay’s widow, Sarah Horsley, publicly objected to the portrayal, saying the loss remained a private tragedy for her family.
Charles’ latest reflection came in a far different setting. The Assynt Mountain Rescue Team said 11 of its members were invited to meet the King at the Castle of Mey. The reception came during Charles’ annual stay in Scotland.
For Charles, the conversation was more than a look back. His recollection of the 1988 avalanche underscored why the work of mountain rescue volunteers carries personal meaning for him.
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