A London nurse who took a prank phone call from Australian radio presenters has been found dead in her apartment, suspected to have committed suicide.
Mother of two, 46-year-old Jacintha Saldhana, was found dead three days after the hoax in which the she was prompted to put two radio hosts pretending to be the Queen through to the Duchess of Cambridge’s private nurse.
The hoax made international headlines and was criticised widely.
The hospital has said they were supporting the well-liked, popular nurse through the difficult time following the phone call.
The Duke and Duchess have said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
“Their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time, a statement said.
The royal family had reportedly not intended to take any action or complain about the nurse or the hospital, instead a spokesperson said they were please with the experience at the hospital.
“On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times.”
2DayFM has had a number of advertisers pull their sponsorship and today suspended advertising due to the backlash.
Austereo boss Rhys Holleran said the presenters at the centre of the scandal were also victims.
“I spoke to both presenters earlier this morning and it’s fair to say they are completely shattered,” he said.
“These people aren’t machines, they’re human beings. What happened is incredibly tragic and we’re deeply saddened and we’re incredibly affected by that.
“I don’t think anyone could have reasonably foreseen that this was going to be a result.”
The station apologised for inconvenience and the presenters involved have taken themselves off air.
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