Prince William and Harry grieve loss of bodyguard, with them when mother Diana tragically died in car crash

Prince William and Prince Harry have been hit with a devastating personal loss that goes back all the way to when the two boys as children learnt their mother, Princess Diana, had died in a car accident.

Former bodyguard to the princes, Graham Craker, was with them when they learned of Diana’s death in Paris in 1997.

Mr Craker, nicknamed “Crackers” by the young boys, passed away at 77 years-old.

He walked behind Diana’s hearse during her funeral procession and rode in the front seat as it travelled to her burial at Althorp House.

In his memoir Spare, Harry recalled that “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.”

Mr Craker served 35 years in the Met Police, including 15 as a royal bodyguard, until his retirement in 2011.

He even attended William and Kate’s 2011 wedding as a guest at Westminster Abbey.

Following his retirement, he described the moment he learned of Diana’s death while at Balmoral.“It was disbelief, really, and obviously a great deal of sorrow.

“You try to 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 Diana’s funeral, Mr Craker said “William was comforted I was with his mum on her final journey.”

Harry and William are yet to provide a statement over the personal loss.