'It was a close thing': King Charles opens up about frightening near-death experience

The King reflected on a near-death experience that killed one of his closest friends during an anniversary event this week.  

Charles, 77, met members of the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team at the Castle of Mey, the late Queen Mother's home near John O'Groats on Monday, where he has begun his summer holiday. 

As he hosted a special event to mark the group's 50th anniversary, he recalled his near-miss in a 1988 avalanche, calling it a "close thing", according to The Times. 

The sudden snow slide killed one of the monarch's closest friends and former equerry to the late Queen, Major Hugh Lindsay, while his friend Patricia Palmer Tomkinson was injured. 

© PA

Team leader Ben Dyson said after Monday's event that "(The King) spoke of the near miss he had in that avalanche in the context of the dangers mountains contain. 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 into the valuable work we do and the dangers we face."

What happened in the 1988 avalanche?

The King, then Prince Charles, was skiing off-piste above Klosters in Switzerland on 10 March 1988 when trouble occurred. 

Neither Princess Diana nor Sarah Ferguson, who were also on the holiday, were on the mountain when the avalanche struck, as they'd stayed behind in the chalet.

© Photo: Getty Images

According to accounts at the time, Charles and most of the group were able to take cover, but Lindsay fatally fell 400 metres down the mountainside.  

Charles and Diana accompanied Major Lindsay's coffin back to the UK, where he was met with a guard of honour from his regiment. His funeral took place on 17 March 1988 at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, with the Queen, Charles, Diana, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Sarah Ferguson in attendance.

The incident was later depicted in season four of The Crown, against the wishes of Lindsay's widow, Sarah.  

© Georges De Keerle

King Charles's love of skiing 

Charles returned to the ski resort in 2022, and also previously enjoyed holidaying there with his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Klosters is also where Prince William and Kate were pictured for the first time back in 2004 during the beginning of their romance. 

Charles was once known as an accomplished skier, and was accompanied by local guide Bruno Sprecher on the 1988 trip. The group had been skiing on the Wang run, which is renowned as one of the most difficult in the area.

© Tim Graham Photo Library via Get

Charles was such a regular in the area that the town eventually named two chairlifts after him! 

However, during a visit to Teeside in February 2025, Charles told a Swiss man he met: "I think my skiing days are behind me." 

The King remains the patron of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Team, a role once held by his late father, Prince Philip.