Princes William and Harry are grieving the loss of a man who stood by their side during one of the darkest days of their lives. Graham Craker, the beloved bodyguard who accompanied them behind Princess Diana’s hearse after her tragic death in 1997, has passed away at the age of 77.
Known affectionately as “Crackers” by the young princes, Craker was more than just security—he was part of the family during a painful chapter of royal history. Nearly three decades ago, he walked beside William and Harry as they followed their mother’s casket through London, and later rode in the front seat of the hearse during her final journey to Althorp House.
Footage from the heartbreaking day showed Craker stepping out of the car to remove the mountain of flowers being tossed onto the windshield by grieving fans.
Prince Harry reflected on those moments in his memoir Spare, recalling, “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.”
Craker’s connection to the royal family spanned decades. He was photographed with Diana and her sons during a trip to Alton Towers in 1994 and was even a guest at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 wedding. His dedication to the royals earned him the honor of being named a Member of the Royal Victorian Order by Queen Elizabeth II.
Craker served 35 years with the Metropolitan Police, including 15 as a royal protection officer before retiring in 2001. In a rare interview, he spoke candidly about the moment he learned of Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris. He was at Balmoral with the royal family when the call came in.
“I crept down the stairs to the house phone and dialed the duty office at Buckingham Palace,” he recalled. “They said there were reports there’d been an accident and Dodi Fayed had been killed and the Princess had a broken arm.”
The full gravity of the situation didn’t hit until later. “It was disbelief, really, and obviously a great deal of sorrow,” he said. “You try and deal with it as best you can but you do get quite emotional about it.”
The most heartbreaking moment, he said, came the following morning when he saw William. “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.’”
At Diana’s funeral, Craker stood silently at the rear of the hearse. “William looked up and acknowledged me. I looked toward him and nodded. William was comforted I was with his mum on her final journey.”
Craker’s passing comes as tensions reportedly rise once again between William and Harry—this time over a rumored Netflix documentary about Princess Diana, said to be in the works by Harry and Meghan Markle. According to insiders, William is furious.
“Ever since the Sussexes moved to America, William has always suspected something like this would eventuate,” a palace source claimed. “He was already frustrated with what he sees as disgraceful cashing in on his mother’s memory from Meghan in recent months, but a supposed documentary about Diana’s life would really take the biscuit.”