Prince William of Gloucester was once regarded as the royal family’s most glamorous figure—a tall, handsome daredevil whose exploits made headlines across Britain. That public image made the circumstances of his death, which unfolded before 30,000 spectators at an airshow, all the more shocking. At just 30 years old, the prince was killed in a plane crash that left witnesses helpless and raised questions about the risks he continued to take. Born in 1941, William was fourth in line to the British throne at birth.
His father, Prince Henry, had returned from service in France just in time for the birth before being deployed again. Despite the nearly 20-year age gap, William formed a close bond with his cousin Princess Elizabeth, serving as a page boy at her wedding in 1947 and attending her coronation six years later. His younger cousin, Prince Charles, reportedly idolized him. Described by those who knew him as warm, loyal, and generous to a fault, William also developed a reputation for recklessness.
He raced cars, flew planes, and earned comparisons to James Bond within the press. Rather than pursuing a traditional military commission, he became only the second royal in history to enter the civil service, working first for a merchant bank and later as a diplomat. His postings took him to Lagos and then Tokyo, where he embraced a degree of freedom unavailable to him at home. But before his transfer to Japan, a medical examination revealed a troubling condition.
Doctors diagnosed William with porphyria, the hereditary disease believed to have afflicted King George III. His mother had insisted on the examination before his departure, and the diagnosis added to evidence that the condition had haunted the royal family for generations. In Tokyo, William lived more independently than he ever had in Britain. He continued flying his own aircraft, sometimes courting danger.
On one occasion, a door burst open mid-flight shortly after takeoff. William instructed a friend to hold the door while he performed an emergency stall maneuver, slowing the aircraft enough for the door to be secured. It was also in Tokyo that William met the woman who would become the central love story of his life. Xuji Stahlov, a Hungarian-born model working as the face of Revlon’s Japanese campaigns, was eight years his senior, divorced, and a mother.
The two met at a costume ball in 1968, after Stahlov sent him a note signed “Cinderella. ” They soon began a secret relationship, renting a seaside apartment where William would cook breakfast for her each morning. William wanted to marry her, but he knew his family would object. He sent a photograph of Stahlov to his parents to gauge their reaction.
Their response was polite but unmistakably disapproving. Stahlov was of common birth, foreign, and divorced—factors that made her unacceptable to the royal family. His cousin Princess Margaret visited him in Tokyo, ostensibly on a diplomatic trip, but William understood her real purpose. Margaret herself had been forced to give up a relationship with Peter Townsend, a divorced man 17 years her senior.
She met Stahlov during the visit, and afterward William told Stahlov that Margaret “doesn’t blame me for falling in love with you. ” Still, the message was clear: duty came first. Margaret advised William to wait and see how things stood once he returned to England. He and Stahlov traveled together across the United States before he went back alone.
When Stahlov later visited Britain and met his parents, she found them cordial but distant. She realized then that they would never accept her. She also saw a different side of William—no longer the free-spirited diplomat she knew in Tokyo, but a prince bound by obligation. The relationship eventually ended, though William had a signet ring made for Stahlov, marked with a W, as a promise he would return for her if circumstances ever changed.
He never did. Around 1970, his father suffered a series of strokes and became confined to a wheelchair. As the eldest son, William took over his father’s responsibilities and left diplomatic service to devote himself fully to royal duties. He continued his adventurous pursuits, however, and in 1972 he entered the Goodyear International Air Trophy race.
He flew alongside his friend Vyrell Mitchell, a 43-year-old pilot. A crowd of 30,000 had gathered to watch the event. Shortly after takeoff, William’s plane banked sharply to the left, lost altitude, and struck a tree, tearing off the left wing. The aircraft flipped over and crashed near the airfield, bursting into flames.
Several boys who were near the crash site rushed toward the burning plane to try to help. One later told BBC News that they attempted to break through the doors and even tried pulling at the tail to split the aircraft open, but the heat forced them back. Emergency crews arrived, but it took two hours to bring the blaze under control. The following day, coroners used dental records to confirm that William and Mitchell had both died.
William was 30 years old. His mother, Princess Alice, was so devastated that she could not bring herself to tell her ailing husband directly. In her biography, she admitted he likely learned of their son’s death from television. Prince Charles took the loss especially hard, having long looked up to his older cousin.
Ten years later, when his first son was born, Charles named him William. Even in death, the bond with Stahlov remained. William had invited her to attend the race that day, but she was unavailable. Among the wreckage, investigators found a single intact item: the ring William had made for her, still on his finger.
Stahlov later married, but she kept the ring and wore it around her neck for the rest of her life. She died in May 2020 after a battle with cancer.