Stop all the clocks, inform your nearest Sloane… it’s the end of an era, as King Charles reveals that he has hung up his skis for good. His Majesty revealed the news on a ‘royal away day’ to Middlesbrough last week, where he is said to have told one engineer that ‘I think my skiing days are behind me.’
It brings to an end an illustrious alpine career for King Charles, who first took to the slopes aged 14, on a trip to Tarasp with Prince Ludwig of Hesse. For the next 45 years, he was a regular at Klosters, holidaying at the ritzy Swiss resort nearly every winter. From slope-style getaways with Princess Diana in the early years of their relationship to royal retreats with Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, King Charles has spent some milestone moments in the Alps.
Perhaps none were more terrifying than his near-miss with a deadly avalanche in 1988. While skiing off-piste on one of Europe’s most dangerous runs at Klosters, the then Prince of Wales was forced to jump out of the way of the oncoming deluge, narrowly avoiding disaster. Tragically, the avalanche killed his close friend Major Hugh Lindsay, who had formerly served as an equerry to the later Queen Elizabeth.