An Australian radio DJ who played a practical joke on Kate Middleton while she was expecting has spoken up about how the experience affected her, admitting she has struggled with “suicidal impulses” ever since.
Recall that in December 2012, while Kate was pregnant with Prince George, she was hospitalized at King Edward VII Hospital in London. Mel Greig, who was working at Sydney’s 2Day FM at the time, and co-host Mike Christian called the hospital “to see how quickly we could get hung up on.”
They were “quickly transferred to the private nurse of the Duchess (of Cambridge),” however, much to the amazement of the hosts. The two posed as the Queen and Prince Charles during the call, tricking nurse Jacintha Saldanha into passing their call on to a colleague who then revealed sensitive information regarding Kate’s condition.
The radio show’s joke call went viral, but a few days later it was discovered that Saldanha had committed himself and had blamed the Australian DJs in his suicide note.
A coroner’s inquiry into the nurse’s death two years later determined in 2014 that her suicide could only be partly related to the strain that followed the practical joke, in addition to the issues she had been experiencing with a coworker at work.
“My condolences for your loss. I’ve been wanting to tell you that for so long “During the coroner’s inquest, Greig spoke to Saldanha’s family.
Ten years after the sad event, Greig has opened up about the “unbearable” remorse she experienced in the wake of the 46-year-choice old’s to commit suicide. She told Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service, “A family lost their wife and mother and to be accused of playing a hand in taking her life was beyond painful” (SBS).
“Online trolls warned me to commit myself every day because I would not find work. I wasn’t even allowed to pack envelopes behind the scenes by charities. I was a damaged and depleted person “Greig tacked on.
The ex-host continued by saying that because of her reputation as the “Royal prank DJ,” she lost friends, jobs, prospects, and her identity, leaving her tormented by “suicidal thoughts.”