If you have not heard, two Aussie radio "personalities" called the hospital where Kate Middleton Windsor was being treated for extreme morning sickness. They pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
A nurse fell for the prank and put the call through to Kate's private nurse. On being chided by the hospitatl and the public, their response was, essentially, that they were sorry, but they never dreamed that anyone would fall for their amateurish impersonations.
Three days later, the nurse who fell for the prank was found dead. She is 46 and the mother of two. The circumstances of the death are being investigated, but I have heard the possibility of suicide mentioned.
Dec 8, 9:32 AM EST
UK hospital protests to Australian radio over hoax
By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) -- A British hospital that fell victim to a hoax call from two Australian DJs seeking information about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge has protested to the head of the radio station's parent company.
The protest letter came after a nurse who took the hoax call was found dead early Friday, three days after the incident made international headlines.
Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital, wrote Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of Southern Cross Austereo, to urge him to ensure the incident will not be repeated.
He condemned the prank for "humiliating two dedicated and caring nurses," saying the consequences were "tragic beyond words."
Jacintha Saldanha's death is being treated as unexplained. She transferred the prank call to a fellow nurse caring for the former Kate Middleton.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ROYAL_PREGNANCY_HOAX?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-08-09-32-37Good grief. If a fiction writer wrote that story, he or she would be told it was too implausible.