Photo of girl, 4, who dreamed of flying, found on plane eight years after her death

Emily Cleary
Updated ·2 min read
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Grace Kelly always dreamed of flying before she died aged four from a rare kidney tumour. (SWNS)
Grace Kelly always dreamed of flying before she died aged four from a rare kidney tumour. (SWNS)

A photo of a four-year-old girl who dreamed of flying has been found behind an aeroplane mirror - eight years after her death.

Grace Kelly died in November 2014 after battling a rare kidney tumour.

Six weeks after her death, her heartbroken grandparents booked a flight on Monarch Airlines. They took on board a picture they had taken of Grace sitting in a plane on a funfair ride and slid the photo behind a bathroom mirror of the plane.

They wrote on the back of the photo: "Our little angel had always wanted to fly - so she flies with Monarch - hidden away for as long as possible.

"Happy travels darling Grace, you made our life just perfect for all too short a time."

The photograph lay undiscovered for more than eight years before it was found during a routine check by Frontier Airlines, who took over Monarch following its collapse in 2017.

Airline mechanics Cullen Johns and Shaun Brown in Tampa Bay, Florida, found the picture while they worked on the Frontier Airbus A320 on 20 February this year.

Grace Kelly pictured with mother Jen. (SWNS)
Grace Kelly pictured with mother Jen. (SWNS)

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The maintenance workers used Facebook to contact Grace’s mother, Dr Jen Kelly, from Crowle, Worcestershire, to tell them about their discovery.

They also told her that the picture would stay in the plane as a tribute to her daughter.

Dr Kelly, who founded The Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust in her daughter’s memory, said: “I am so proud of Grace and all that she has managed to achieve.

“I always knew that Grace would move mountains.

"This is not the way anyone would have chosen, but now Grace is not only moving mountains but soaring above them too.

“She never had the chance to fly in a plane, so to know she is flying around high in the clouds is truly special.

"We are so thankful to Frontier Airlines for keeping Grace on board and we are truly grateful they tracked us down to let us know.

“It feels so special to know that Grace’s photo has been flying for so many years and continues to do so.”

Frontier Airlines say Grace's picture will remain inside Aircraft N228FR, which is identified by a picture of Orville the red cardinal bird painted on the tail of the aircraft.