Prank call to Kate Middleton’s hospital aired despite breaking major protocol

A radio station that obtained information on Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, whilst in hospital broke major protocol - and now its parent company is being sued.

In December 2012, Michael Christian and his Hot30 Countdown co-host, Mel Greig, were tasked with phoning up King Edward VII’s Hospital - a private establishment located on Beaumont Street in Marylebone - to find out why Kate had been admitted as a patient.

The pair, who were working at 2Day FM radio at the time, posed as Charles, then Prince of Wales, and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

With their impressions, Michael and Mel were able to convince a nurse called Jacintha Saldanha that they were the real deal.

Saldanha, who later took her own life, revealed private medical information regarding Kate and the morning sickness she was suffering with whilst pregnant with her first child, Prince George.

Michael Christian and Mel Greig were behind the prank call (Channel 7)

Michael - who recently filed a lawsuit against his old employer, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) after losing his job in February this year - claimed he was asked to make the prank call by the 2Day FM production team.

The DJ has since alleged the call breached the Australian Communications and Media Authority code of practice and should never have been able to come to fruition, as per a lawsuit.

This is because the station never actually received consent from the medical institution to broadcast the call, according to a 2014 ACMA report.

The ACMA code of practice requires programs to call back identifiable people, inform them of pranks, and obtain the subject's expressed consent to broadcast their words.

Rhys Holleran, who was CEO of SCA at the time, claimed the station tried to get the go-ahead from the hospital by ringing them ‘no less than five times’, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

After failing to contact them, executives reportedly gave the green light anyway, deeming the call not ‘inappropriate’ for broadcast. Holleran has previously admitted that neither Michael nor Mel did ‘anything wrong’ in this instance, claiming they did ‘exactly what was required of them’.

He added that he has ‘always felt completely and utterly responsible’ for the prank call.

The call took place after Kate was admitted to hospital with severe morning sickness during her pregnancy with Prince George (LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite Mel allegedly requesting Saldanha’s voice to be dubbed for anonymity, the call went out on 5 December unedited.

When asked why the woman’s voice was not hidden, the station told AMCA that they believed the nurse could not be identified.

On 6 December, the Australian radio station issued a brief apology for ‘any inconvenience caused’. A day later, Saldanha was found dead by security and other staff in her nursing accommodation at the hospital.

It was reported that she had left three handwritten suicide notes, one of which blamed the royal radio stunt for her death.

Michael’s lawsuit against SCA claims that he and Mel were made ‘scapegoats’ by the radio station and that he received death threats once news of Saldanha’s death broke.

Christian’s lawyers wrote, as per local outlets: “SCA did not immediately take public accountability for the incident, but rather allowed [Michael and Mel] to be left exposed to relentless public vitriol, harassment and abuse, including death threats.”

Greig appeared at the inquest for Saldhana's death to apologise to her family (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Michael is seeking penalties and compensation for his potential earnings loss and damages now that he has left his post - alleging that his redundancy was ‘not genuine’.

According to a 2014 article published by The Guardian, William, Prince of Wales, wrote to the family of Saldanha after her death, where he reportedly spoke warmly of the care Kate received whilst hospitalised, adding that the nurse’s death was ‘unbelievably sad’.

“We were both very shocked to hear about Jacintha and have been thinking about her a lot recently,” he said, adding that he was ‘so sorry’ that someone who cared for other so much had found themselves in ‘such a desperate situation.’

Tyla has 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.