King Charles Recalls Near-Death Experience During 1988 Avalanche That Killed Close Friend, Says ‘It Was a Close Thing’

Gina KalsiMon, August 10, 2026 at 10:24 AM UTC

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King Charles meets the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team at the Castle of MeyCredit: Assynt Mountain Rescue Team Facebook -

King Charles, 77, is reflecting on surviving a 1988 avalanche that killed his close friend, Major Hugh Lindsay

The monarch opened up about the experience while hosting a celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team earlier this month

Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, another friend of Charles’, suffered serious leg injuries in the incident

King Charles has opened up about his near-death experience during an avalanche in 1988.

The royal, 77, reflected on his narrow escape while hosting a party for members of the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team at the Castle of Mey, on the north coast of Scotland, to celebrate the group’s 50th anniversary on Aug. 1.

The tragic incident killed his close friend, Major Hugh Lindsay, who was Queen Elizabeth‘s former equerry, and also injured Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.

King Charles visited Dingwall, in the Scottish HighlandsCredit: The Royal Family/Instagram

“[The King] spoke of the near miss he had in that avalanche in the context of the dangers mountains contain,” team leader Ben Dyson told the outlet. “He said ‘it was a close thing’. Obviously after all these years it is still much in his memory, but it had given him an insight [in]to the valuable work we do and the dangers we face.”

Dyson said Charles was “very appreciative” of the work that mountain rescue teams carry out.

The incident, which occurred in 1988, took place on March 10, as the royal party was skiing off-piste above the resort of Klosters in Switzerland, according to a BBC report.

Lindsay plunged 1,312 feet down a mountainside when the avalanche hit, and Palmer-Tomkinson suffered serious leg injuries, the outlet noted.

The King and other members of his group were able to reach safety and later returned with their guide and a Swiss police officer to dig out the victims from the snow, according to the BBC.

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The Queen with her Equerry Major Hugh Lindsay, 1985Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

Lindsay and Palmer-Tomkinson were both flown to a local hospital in Davos, where Lindsay was declared deceased.

Marie Griffiths, an eyewitness, said she saw [then Prince] Charles being airlifted off the mountain and told the BBC at the time: “As far as I know he hadn’t been injured. He looked very distressed; somebody said he was crying, but he did walk to the helicopter so he looked uninjured.”

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Lindsay’s wife, Sarah, was six months pregnant at the time he died, according to British newspaper The i.

Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, were also on the ski vacation, but were safely at their chalet in Davos when the avalanche hit.

Throughout their childhoods, Prince William and Prince Harry went to Klosters in the Swiss Alps to ski, a tradition that Charles and Princess Diana encouraged in their sons’ lives from an early age.

But the monarch previously declared that he’d hung up his skis during a visit to Teesside, a region in north-east England, in February 2025.

“I think my skiing days are behind me,” Charles told a Swiss man he met, according to Hello! Magazine.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”