The RAF veteran pilot who repatriated Princess Diana’s body after her fatal car crash in Paris in 1997 has died at the age of 80.
Squadron Leader Graham Laurie, who served as the personal pilot to the Prince of Wales—now King Charles—for nearly two decades, died on August 8.
During 19 years with the Queen’s Flight at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, from 1981 to 2000, Sqn Ldr Laurie recorded 13,500 flying hours across 2,214 flights.
By the time he retired, he had flown Charles to 767 official engagements.
Yet among the thousands of hours he spent in the air, Laurie regarded his most significant mission as taking Princess Diana “on her final flight home”.
Years later, Sqn Ldr Laurie recalled how the events of August 31, 1997, began for him. His son, Graham, woke him at 2am after returning from a party and told him that the Princess of Wales had been involved in a serious car crash.
Diana, her partner Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, died from injuries sustained in the collision inside the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in central Paris.
Understanding the seriousness of the situation, Sqn Ldr Laurie reached RAF Northolt in west London within hours. He flew to collect Diana’s sisters, then stopped in Aberdeen to pick up Prince Charles before continuing on to Paris.
Squadron Leader Graham Laurie, who served as the personal pilot to the Prince of Wales for almost two decades, has died aged 80
Of the thousands of flying hours he logged, Laurie’s most cherished mission was taking Princess Diana “on her final flight home”
He estimated that the full round trip would take until 7pm that evening—a time quickly relayed to the world’s press, increasing the pressure on him.
Laurie was known for keeping to schedule, and he landed the BAe 146 carrying Diana’s body at exactly 6.51pm.
The Times reported that the experienced pilot later described the scene: “As we slowly proceeded to the airport apron, hundreds of press and TV cameras watched our every move.
“The Queen’s Colour Squadron acted as pallbearers to the nearby hearse, doing a magnificent job considering they had no time to practise.”
Laurie also remembered that he was back in the air within 20 minutes, this time flying Charles to Balmoral.
He said he would always feel “honoured” to have played a part in an event watched by millions around the world.
“That entire week was a daze, but on reflection, having flown Princess Diana over 200 times in the past, I was honoured to fly her on her final flight home,” he said.
The events of 1997 marked a bittersweet reversal of what had happened three years earlier, when Laurie faced criticism for allowing the Prince of Wales to take control of a British Aerospace 146. The future King subsequently crashed the aircraft while landing on Islay in the Inner Hebrides.
The £10million “Whisper Jet” ran into trouble while landing on June 29, 1994, during a five-day visit to Scotland. The incident occurred on the same day as a controversial documentary in which Charles admitted he had committed adultery.
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Approaching the runway in 33mph winds, the plane quickly ran out of airstrip. Charles was forced to brake sharply, turning the jet to prevent it from sliding onto rough ground.
The impact blew three tyres, and the four-engined jet came to a halt at right angles to the runway, 60ft from a 14ft drop into a stream. The nose cone, landing gear and weather radar all suffered damage. Experts estimated the crash caused £1million worth of damage.
Charles later made light of the accident, saying: ‘It wasn’t quite a crash. We went off the end of the runway, unfortunately. It is not something I recommend.’
Laurie was severely criticised in a Ministry of Defence report which claimed he should have grabbed the controls from the Prince.
The pilot later admitted he should have got Charles to pull up, in a 2019 Channel 5 documentary Secrets of the Royal Flight.
Laurie, who was suspended during the 1994 crash inquiry, said: ‘The nose wheel had landed because it was right beneath us, so we were bumping along the runway.
‘But what we didn’t realise was the main wheels were still slightly clear of the ground, so consequently when I took over I still couldn’t stop it going off the end.
‘With hindsight, of course, I should have got him to overshoot and make another approach. But I actually told him to land, so he did exactly what he was told to do.’
The report accused Laurie of negligence and concluded the plane’s navigator was also ‘negligent’ for failing to advise the captain of vital data during the landing.
While he was never formally disciplined, the Royal Air Force did admit at the time his negligence would have ‘career implications’.
Charles grounded himself from flying after the accident, which St James’s Palace said at the time was a ‘personal decision the Prince took on his own’.
Despite being scolded by his superiors, Laurie continued on as Charles’s personal pilot.
Graham Harvey Laurie was born in Mitcham, Surrey, on December 15, 1945. He attended Rutlish Grammar in New Malden, southwest London, where former Prime Minister John Major was two years above him.
They played together on the school cricket team, with Laurie appointed as captain.
In 1964, he joined the RAF and served with the 46 Squadron supporting the Parachute Regiment and Special Forces.
By 1981 he was training pilots to fly the Andover, a twin-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. Soon after, he was selected to join the Queen’s Flight at RAF Benson, a dedicated unit for transporting the Royal Family to their varying engagements.
On his retirement, Laurie was rewarded with a pair of silver cufflinks from the Prince – who he affectionately called ‘the Boss’ – and an appointment to the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1991.
He is survived by Jo, his wife of 58 years, who was a former RAF flight lieutenant and their two children, Jo and Graham.