Prince William and Harry’s ex-bodyguard dies Graham Craker dies, bodyguard at time of Princess Diana’s death

By Gwyn Wright

A former bodyguard to the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex has died aged 77.

Graham Craker was their bodyguard at the time of their mother’s death in 1997.

He walked with the princes behind their mother’s hearse as it made its way from St James’s Palace to Westminster Abbey for her funeral. He then sat in front of the hearse carrying the Princess to Althorp House, where she is buried.

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The former bodyguard, whose death was first reported by The Sun, was nicknamed Crackers by the brothers.

The Duke of Sussex wrote in his memoir Spare: “The driver had to keep pulling over so the bodyguard could get out and clear the flowers off the windscreen.

“The bodyguard was Graham. Willy and I liked him a lot. We always called him Crackers. We thought that was hysterical.”

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In an interview after the Princess died, the former bodyguard said: “I crept down the stairs to the house phone and dialled the duty office at Buckingham Palace.

“They said there were reports there’d been an accident and Dodi Fayed had been killed and the Princess had a broken arm.”

He said he was left in “disbelief” when he found out the Princess had also been killed.

“You try and deal with it as best you can but you do get quite emotional about it.

“Perhaps the most emotional was seeing William the morning after.

“I saw William walking his dog outside, and I walked up to him and said, ‘I’m very, very sorry to hear your bad news’. William very sadly said, ‘Thank you’.”

Of the funeral, he said: “I was standing at the rear of the hearse and William looked up and acknowledged me. I looked toward him and nodded.

“William was comforted I was with his mum on her final journey.”

He was a guest at the Prince and Princess of Wales’s wedding in 2011 and was made a member of the Royal Victorian Order by the late Queen for services to the royal family.

He retired in 2001 after 35 years in the Metropolitan Police and 15 years serving as a royal bodyguard.

Kensington Palace was contacted for comment by The Telegraph.

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2025

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