Princess Diana’s former body guard she called ‘Rambo’ dies suddenly

Princess Diana’s former bodyguard, Lee Sansum, has died. Sansum’s wife Kate has shared the news on Facebook.

“Since meeting in 1998, Lee Sansum has been my soul mate, hero and most amazing man in my world. So I’m devastated to share that he is no longer with us. He had a fatal heart attack on Saturday morning at home,” she shared.

“His huge presence will be missed around the world as much as it is in our household although his capacity for love, and the life skills he has shared have left a legacy that will never be lost,” she continued.

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She ended her post by saying: He’s forever loved and will always be with us. I love you more than ever ‘MyLovely Lee’.”

Sansum was assigned to protect Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed in July 1997 while the couple were holidaying on Harrod boss Mohamed Al-Fayed’s superyacht in St Tropez in France.

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Sansum says he and Diana became close during a summer holiday in the South of France in 1997.

He was employed by Dodi’s father, Mohamed al-Fayed, to guard them during their stay in St Tropez on what would be the Princess of Wales’ final holiday.

Sansum was assigned to the princess and Dodi having protected other high-profile celebrities including Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and footballer Pele.

During the stay at the 30-room villa, Sansum says the Princess of Wales used to wake up at 7am each morning and come to speak to him.

He described her as being “happy” but says there were times when she would be “in tears”.

Sansum received a touching letter from Diana thanking her for his service, saying the “magical ten days would not have been possible without your invaluable contribution”.

He released a book about his time working in the field called The Bodyguard in 2022 which also chronicled his time with Princess Diana.

Sansum had served in the army before working as a civilian bodyguard.

His son Lee said following the death of Princess Diana, his father and all the other bodyguards who had been working with her were assigned jobs far away from the media spotlight.

Sansum was guarding a castle in Scotland and Lee, who was a young boy at the time, was sent to join him. Sansum also worked as a bodyguard for politicians including Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland.

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Sansun spoke of suffering post-traumatic stress disorder following his military service and was heartened to see Harry’s work supporting veterans later in life.

“To see him later in life supporting veterans was really nice. Now I want to ask him to sit down and speak to him and to raise ­awareness of PTSD sufferers together,” he said at the time.

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His family are remembering him fondly, including his son Damon.

“My Dad, my best friend and my super hero. I love you so much Dad you will always be in my heart. I can feel you already in me and around me. I am you and you are me,” he shared on Instagram.

To which is brother Lee responded: “I’m so so sorry Damon. He does live on in you and his legacy will continue and grow through you. Love to you and your family in this difficult time. I’m here when you need me.”

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