“I’m sorry.” look back at Kate Middleton’s 2012 hospitalization of a nurse who committed suicide.

“Hi, can I speak to Kate, girl?” The hoax began one morning in December 2012, when an Australian radio host decided to pose as Queen Elizabeth II at London’s Edward VII Hospital. Its purpose? Maliciously gathers information about the health of Kate Middleton, who was then pregnant with her first child, Prince George, and was hospitalized for severe nausea and vomiting. “Can I speak to Kate, please, my little girl,” 2Day FM Sydney radio host Mel Greig asks the facility worker in a fake-trembled voice. At the other end of the line is a gullible nurse named Jacinta Saldanha.

“When are you going to walk those damn corgis?”

This December 4, 2012 employee is not suspicious. “He’s sleeping now and had a good night. His condition is stable for now. He’s not quiet anymore,” he naively replies, adding that the Queen can come and visit him “any time after 9 o’clock”. Mel Greig agrees and pushes the scandal a little further by pretending to be talking to his son Prince Charles, who was outlawed by accomplice, presenter Michael Christian. “But when did you decide to walk those damn corgis?” she exclaims with muffled laughter and barking in the background. A visibly successful imitation, as the two Australian presenters then liaise directly with the department responsible for Kate and then the Duchess of Cambridge.

In the United Kingdom, the dignity of the royal family is sacrosanct, and the case, when revealed, caused a stir, shaking the entire country. Everyone points to the ignorance and even stupidity of the 46-year-old nurse. Especially since Edward VII Hospital is known for its professionalism and security measures regarding the privacy of its patients. Three days later, under media pressure and intimidation, Jacinta Saldanha ended her life by hanging in a hospital room. “It is with deep sadness that we can confirm the tragic death of Jacinta Saldanha, a member of our nursing staff,” the clinic said in a December 7, 2012, press release sent to K. Sunday Times. We can confirm that a nurse recently fell victim to a hoax at the hospital.

Although the employee had already attempted suicide twice in 2011 before using anti-depressants, an incriminating suicide note was found inches away from her body. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” wrote the wife and mother of two. I hold the two radio Australians responsible for this act. I am asking them to pay off my home loan. Sorry. Jacinta: His elder, 14-year-old Lisha, said a few days later on Facebook with a simple and touching word. “I miss you, mom.”

“Heart in Pieces”

Shortly after the tragedy, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who were fired from Australia’s 2Day FM Sydney radio station following a British prosecutor’s investigation, publicly apologized in an interview on the program. Current Affairs airs on the Nine Network. “Broken, disgusted, hearts in pieces,” they declare in unison to describe their feelings about the nurse’s suicide. And Mel Greig, the fake Elizabeth II, announced with a face full of tears to the words of the daughter of the deceased. “I’ve thought about it a million times. I would like to see them (his children, editor’s note), hug them and tell them how sorry I am. (…) Not a second goes by that we don’t think about his family and what they are going through. The idea that we could be responsible for this is simply unbearable.”

The apology was repeated two years later on Friday 12 September 2014 at the High Court in London at the conclusion of the inquest. “To all my fellow presenters, please consider the feelings of others when trying to make a joke,” urged the Australian presenter. However, taking into account the fragile health of the victim at the time of the incident, the British Public Prosecutor’s Office refused to initiate proceedings against the two accused, explaining that “even if it was inappropriate, the phone call was intended to be harmless”.

Very upset by the case, Prince William himself wrote a letter to the nurse’s family, which was revealed during the trial. Daily Mail: . “Jacinta and her colleagues took such good care of us and I’m so sorry that someone who cared so much for others was in such a desperate situation,” he wrote at the time as a last ditch effort.