Topics: Prince William, Royal Family, UK News, Cancer, News, Kate Middleton
The world was shocked in 2012 when nurse Jacintha Saldanha tragically took her own life when Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian made a prank call to the hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated.
The two radio hosts, who were working at 2Day FM radio at the time, pretended to be the late Queen Elizabeth and the then-Prince Charles to gain access to information about the Princess of Wales, who was being treated for morning sickness whilst carrying Prince George at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London in December of that year.
Their prank call impressions were able to convince 46-year-old mother-of-two Saldanha that they were the royals as she transferred the call to the ward Kate was staying in.
Sadly, after realising she had been fooled, the nurse took her own life.
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According to The Times, in one of three notes written before taking her own life, Saldanha expressed how angry she was with the Australian radio presenters and blamed them for her suicide.
The family of Saldanha later revealed the contents of the letter William sent to them following the heartbreaking loss, which was dated New Year's Day 2013.
It saw the then-Duke of Cambridge speak warmly of the care Kate had received whilst at that particular hospital.
"It is unbelievably sad and we both extend to and your family our deepest condolences," he wrote.
"We were both very shocked to hear about Jacintha and have been thinking about her a lot recently. Many of the nurses spoke highly of her and I'm sure you know how great a nurse she was."
William concluded the letter writing: "Jacintha and her colleagues looked after us extremely well and I am just so sorry that someone who cared for others so much found themselves in such a desperate situation."
Both Christian and Greig faced intense public backlash, death threats and long-lasting damage to their reputations following the prank call, which they argued should have been absorbed by the broadcaster.
Christian decided to stay with his employer at the time, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), but claimed he was marginalised and 'made a scapegoat'.
He also claimed he never received the allegedly promised support to rebuild his career following the horrific consequences of the prank call.
Christian was eventually made redundant in February of this year and has now sued SCA, seeking compensation for loss of earnings and damages, arguing his redundancy was not genuine.
Greig, however, decided to leave the station much earlier.
She revealed in 2014 that she struggled with depression and her mother received death threats because of the scandal, publicly expressing regret and saying she was ashamed she didn’t do more to stop the prank from airing.
Greig expressed understanding of Christian’s decision to sue while reiterating her sympathy for the Saldanha family and calling for reforms in how media companies support staff.
Tyla has previously reached out to Southern Cross Austereo for comment.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
