Winter Ski Vacations with the Royal Family: Joys and Challenges from Their Childhood Adventures

Princess Kate and Prince William with Prince George and Princess Charlotte in Courcheval, France in March 2016.
Credit :

John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty

Key Points

• The royal family often turns their attention to skiing after the holiday season.
• Skiing is as intertwined with royal life as polo and horse racing.
• Prince William and Kate Middleton continue the tradition of introducing their children to skiing from a young age.

As the festive season concludes, the royal family traditionally shifts focus to their preferred winter activity: skiing.

During their childhood, Prince William and Prince Harry frequently visited their father, King Charles, at the Swiss Alps resort of Klosters for skiing holidays.

This tradition, supported by their parents, was rooted in Charles’s fondness for Klosters, which he first discovered through his friend Patty Palmer-Tomkinson. The prince cherished the location so much that he often painted its landscapes. Notably, his initial visit was with Lady Sarah Spencer, who is Diana’s older sister.

Princess Diana, who had worked as a maid in the Alps during her youth, was also a skilled skier. “She was incredibly good at it,” her former bodyguard Ken Wharfe noted.

Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice and Prince William in Klosters, Switzerland in January 1995.

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Both William and Kate have carried on this skiing tradition with their own children. Their trips to the Alps have included notable vacations like one in spring 2025, which drew significant media attention when the couple successfully took legal action against the French magazine *Paris Match* over the publication of unauthorized photos of their family.

In 2016, the couple shared a photo of themselves with a young Prince George and Princess Charlotte during what was believed to be their first skiing trip as a family of four.

In earlier years, there was often a mutual understanding between the royals and the press that a photocall would be arranged in exchange for privacy during their vacations—a practice that became common among traveling royal reporters.

In January 1995, the royal family provided an opportunity for photographers when William and Harry posed with cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who were visiting Klosters with their parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

The then Prince Charles and Princess Diana in Klosters, Switzerland in February 1986.

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The skills of both princes on skis were soon evident, demonstrated in lively fashion. Harry, in particular, displayed a penchant for adventure, often skiing down a mountain alone, according to Wharfe, who recounted amusing tales of the younger prince’s misadventures.

As the day transitioned into evening, the princes often unwound at local bars, with their security detail maintaining a discreet distance. Notably, in March 2005, Kate joined William and his friends in Klosters to celebrate what was regarded as Charles’ bachelor vacation ahead of his marriage to Camilla.

Prince Harry in Klosters, Switzerland in February 1994.

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However, life in the mountains has not always been carefree. In March 1988, during a holiday with Charles and a pregnant Sarah, Diana learned of Charles’s involvement in a serious skiing accident that resulted in tragedy. An avalanche struck, leading to the death of Major Hugh Lindsay and substantial injuries for several others, including Palmer-Tomkinson, whose rescue was attributed to the rapid response of a guide.

Prince William and Prince Harry, with their late mother Princess Diana, during a ski holiday in Lech, Austria, in March 1993.

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In March 2002, while Charles and his sons were again in Klosters, they received news of the passing of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, prompting an immediate return to the UK.

The royal family’s skiing tradition reflects both leisure and history, providing a glimpse into their unique blend of personal joy and public scrutiny.