The Hospital Nurse Who Got Duped In The Duchess Kate Prank Call Committed Suicide

December 7, 2012 / Posted by:

The “I Don’t Like Jokes” tag has never been more appropriate.

Two days ago, Australian radio hosts Mel and Michael put on their worst British accents to try to talk to Duchess Kate at the hospital she was staying in. They pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and they didn’t think they would get through since they butchered the British accent more than Brit Brit has. But they did get through. A hospital receptionist immediately transferred them to the nurse taking care of Duchess Kate. And now that hospital receptionist is dead.

The Daily Mail said that her body was found this morning at an address really near King Edward VII Hospital where she worked. When the paramedics showed up to the address, she had already passed away and they couldn’t revive her. Scotland Yard is treating her death as a suicide. And no, now is not the time for our MI6 jokes.

The hospital hasn’t commented on this, but yesterday, a spokesperson for the hospital spoke out about the prank and called it “foolish” and said they were reviewing telephone protocol. Mel and Michael also released a statement yesterday saying they were sorry and didn’t think their prank would go very far:

“We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we’d be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents. We’re very sorry if we’ve caused any issues and we’re glad to hear that Kate is doing well.”

Damn, and the hospital receptionist had a husband and two kids. One minute, she’s falling for a dumb prank and the next minute she’s committing suicide. That escalated quickly. Duchess Kate hasn’t even been knocked up for five seconds and a life has already been lost. Sadness all around.

UPDATE: A spokesperson for King Edward VII Hospital said that the nurse who was found dead is Jacintha Saldanha. Answering the main line wasn’t even part of Nurse Jacintha’s duties. The receptionist needed to step away from the phones, so Nurse Jacintha was helping her out. In a statement, Prince William and Duchess Kate said their “thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time.”

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