Lindsey Vonn shares touching letter Prince William sent to her in aftermath of devastating Winter Olympics crash
Prince William has praised Lindsey Vonn's 'courage' and 'resilience' in a private letter sent to her after she almost lost a leg in a horrifying Winter Olympics crash.
The future king, 43, was moved to write to the American athlete after she suffered a broken tibia 13 seconds into the women's downhill final at Milan-Cortina.
She had already torn her ACL before the Games in February but tried to compete anyway.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the skiing star revealed that she has offered to go skiing with William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis when she is recovered from her injuries.
As well as a letter from the prince, waiting for her when she returned home to Park City in Utah were notes from David Beckham, Jannik Sinner and Tom Brady.
Reading out the heir to the British throne's letter to her, she revealed William wrote: 'The way you wrote about stepping into the starting gate with courage and no regrets says so much about your resilience and is one of the many reasons why you have been an inspiration to so many people throughout your illustrious career.
'I hope your recovery is as smooth and quick as possible in the months ahead'.
Lindsey Vonn has revealed that Prince William wrote to her after her Winter Olympics crash
William praised her 'courage' and 'resilience' for trying to win gold with an ACL injury and then tragically breaking her leg
William and Kate on a skiing holiday in 2008 in Klosters
Ms Vonn was clearly moved by the letter and revealed her own response.
She said: 'I offered to ski with him and his family if they ever want to. Maybe in a while, but at some point'.
Skiing is very important to the Prince and Princess of Wales - the couple went on trips abroad to take part in the past time when they were courting and also when Kate was recovering from cancer.
In February they quietly enjoyed a holiday in the exclusive French Alpine ski resort of Courchevel.
The royal couple were spotted at a high-end mountainside restaurant, where even a ham and cheese toastie costs €85 (£74), albeit a 'truffle-infused' one.
'They had a very nice time and were very polite,' a member of staff said.
Fellow diners who spotted the future King and his wife – looking immaculate in their ski gear – snapped photographs from afar as the pair headed out after their expensive meal.
Dubbed 'the Saint Tropez of the slopes', Courchevel is known for its Michelin-starred restaurants, designer shopping and celebrity visitors such as George Clooney and the Beckhams.
William and Kate and their eldest children first visited the French Alps in 2016 and they have since jetted off to high-end resorts for a number of private holidays.
Early last year the family went skiing with members of the Princess's family and were spotted at a mountaintop restaurant. 'It was a Middleton knees-up,' said a source at the time.
This trip in January was a winter break for Kate as she was recovering from her cancer battle.
The Princess of Wales has made it clear how much she has enjoyed being out in nature since her illness.
It came as Lindsey Vonn described in harrowing detail how much pain she was in and revealed it was a Team USA doctor who performed the crucial surgery that saved her left leg.
The sports icon, 41, made a miraculous comeback at Milan-Cortina last month only to suffer a horrific broken leg 13 seconds into her run in the women's downhill final on February 8. She had already torn her ACL before the Games.
After the first of five surgeries, Vonn suffered from compartment syndrome which left doctors facing a race against time to avoid having to amputate the limb.
It was Tom Hackett, the head physician for Team USA Ski and Snowboard, who performed the vital fasciotomy.
Following multiple surgeries in both Italy and the United States, the skiing legend was allowed to return home to Utah on March 1, almost a month after the crash happened.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Vonn admitted the pain is 'seared into my brain' and it took everything she had to not go insane while in hospital in the Italian city of Treviso.
Lindsey Vonn has given harrowing details of her shocking Winter Olympics crash to Vanity Fair
Vonn needed five surgeries in total after she came dangerously close to losing her leg
Detailing an initial CT scan at the Olympic clinic before they even went to the hospital, Vonn said: 'Halfway through, I started sweating. I was just in such extreme pain.
'I screamed at the top of my lungs: Get me out. It just wouldn't dissipate. It wouldn't let up. It's seared into my brain.'
After flying to Treviso via helicopter, they were unable to land at the hospital at first because paparazzi had gathered on the helipad. When they eventually touched down, a team of 20 doctors and nurses were ready to treat Vonn.
The first surgery went 'great', according to Hackett, but Vonn later woke up in the middle of the night screaming louder than she had initially after the crash.
Her leg was swelling, thanks to the compartment syndrome, and the pain was not being reduced by large amounts of fentanyl, morphine and oxycodone.
Detailing the decision to operate again, Hackett added: 'There was a very significant chance that she was going to lose all function of her leg, if not the leg itself. Best-case scenario in those situations is, you might keep your leg, but it’s going to be useless.'
Hackett successfully performed the fasciotomy but her entire experience in that hospital in Treviso, of being in such agonising pain and on vast amounts of medication, has left Vonn with psychological scars.
She recalls how nurses were checking on her every three hours, there were other patients on the ward with her and the lights stayed on until 11pm. Vonn says: 'It took everything I had for it to not drive me insane.'
The skiing legend suffered a broken left leg after she crashed in the women's downhill (pictured)
Vonn has since proven that she has bounced back faster than fans expected as she showed off her incredible progress. The former gold medalist was back in the gym last week, sharing a video of her workout to social media on Saturday.
Her current rehabilitation schedule includes a two-hour physio session every day, followed by two hours in a hyperbaric chamber and then a gym workout back at home.
When asked if she is even thinking about returning to the slopes once again, she added: 'I don’t like to close the door on anything, because you just never know what’s going to happen.
'It’s hard to tell with this injury. It’s so f***ed up. I really feel like that was a horrible last run to end my career on. I only made it 13 seconds. But they were a really good 13 seconds.'
