Prince William and Prince Harry’s former bodyguard Graham “Crackers” Craker has died at the age of 77, per reports.
The former royal protection officer with the London Metropolitan Police looked after the young princes around the time their mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997.
Craker accompanied William, 42, and Harry, 40, as they walked behind their mother’s hearse from London’s St. James’s Palace to Westminster Abbey during Diana’s televised funeral on September 6, 1997. He was also in the hearse that transported the late princess’ body from Westminster Abbey to her final resting place at Althorp House in Northampton.
Craker’s death was reported by The Sun, The Telegraph and Sky News Australia. The cause of death is not yet known.
Charity organization Southern Maltings, based in Ware, Hertfordshire, England, also commented on Craker’s death via its official Facebook page on Thursday, April 3.
“Today, it is with much sadness that we must share that our friend and colleague, Graham Craker, has sadly died,” said the charity.
“While to the most important people in his life, Graham was a father and grandfather, to us he was a valued friend and colleague,” Southern Maltings continued. “He was the only volunteer to have a set of keys to the building, such is the measure of how trusted and respected he was, and it was not unusual to find him around, even when there was no event, because he wanted to make sure the bar was clean, stocked and ready for everyone else.”
“From a career in the police, as a member of the protection squad, a huge driving force in the rotary, and eventually a key volunteer at the Southern Maltings, so many people are going to miss our very own James Bond,” the post added, describing Craker’s long service in the U.K. police force.
In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry detailed how he and his older brother affectionately dubbed Craker “Crackers.”
Describing Diana’s funeral procession, the Duke of Sussex wrote, “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.”
In a 2017 interview with The New York Post, Craker opened up about Diana’s tragic death and how he learned the news on August 31, 1997.
“It was so difficult to take in. It takes a while to absorb, and then you feel the need to make sure what you’re hearing is true — and that didn’t take long to establish. From there on, it’s the policeman’s instinct to assess the situation and carry on,” he said.
“Perhaps the most emotional [moment] was seeing William the morning after [the car crash],” he said of the week that followed Diana’s death. “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.’ Not wishing to encroach upon his grief, I then walked on, and William continued walking his dog.”
