The royal British family found themselves in the middle of a terrible tragedy during a time of great happiness on Friday, December 7, 2012.
Early last week, the royal family announced that Kate
Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was expecting her first child with Prince
William. The Duchess was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital on Monday,
December 3 for suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, otherwise known as severe
morning sickness, which can leave the Duchess extremely dehydrated. Kate
Middleton was in the hospital for approximately three days and was released
on Thursday, December 6. During her stay at the hospital, a certain phone call
was made to the hospital that would change everything.
On Tuesday, December 4, two DJs from Australian radio
station 2DayFM, called the King Edward VII’s Hospital. The DJs impersonated
Queen Elizabeth and inquired about the condition of Kate Middleton, gaining
private information. After acquiring this information, the DJs played the phone
conversation on air.
The demeaning yet simple prank, however, had far greater
consequences than what was ever intended. On Friday, December 7, the nurse,
Jacintha Saldanha, who transferred the phone call to the ward, was found dead
after apparently committing suicide. London’s Metropolitan Police is working
closely together with the New South Wales Police in Australia to conduct the
investigation regarding the death of Nurse Jacintha Saldhana.
Jacintha Saldhana left behind a mourning husband and
daughter who are in shock and grief over the untimely death of Saldhana. Her husband
stated that she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.
The chairman of King Edward VII’s hospital, Lord Glenarthur,
was appalled and slammed the Australian radio station’s decision to air the
prank call. “King Edward VII’s Hospital cares for sick people, and it was
extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way
through to one of our patients, let alone actually make the call,” he stated.
The royal family announced their deep regret over the death
of the nurse, and offered their full support to the nurses that were involved
and the hospital staff at all times.
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