The nurse who died was
the person who first took the hoax call and transferred it through to
Catherine's ward, the hospital's public relations company said.
The hospital named her as
Jacintha Saldanha and said she had worked there for more than four
years as an "excellent nurse," well-respected by co-workers.
The hospital "had been supporting her throughout this difficult time," the statement said.
She is survived by her husband and two children, the hospital said.
Her family released a statement asking for privacy and directing questions to police.
"We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha," said the statement, released by police.
As the hoax controversy
unfolded, authorities weren't releasing to British media the name of the
nurse victimized in the prank. Her name became public only after her
death.
The Duchess of Cambridge was discharged from the hospital Thursday
after treatment for acute morning sickness.
A St. James's Palace spokesman said: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha.
"Their Royal Highnesses
were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King
Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha
Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time."
Separately, a palace
spokesman told CNN: "At no point did the palace complain to the hospital
about the incident. On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt
support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times."
The hospital's chief executive, John Lofthouse, said, "Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague."
London's Metropolitan
Police said they were notified around 9:35 a.m. (4:35 a.m. ET) on Friday
that a woman was found unconscious. She was pronounced dead at the
scene.
Police are treating the death as "unexplained," they said.
Audio of the call posted
online suggested a woman spoke briefly to the DJs, who host a show for
the 2Day FM radio station in Sydney, before the call was put through to
the ward early Tuesday morning.
The hospital said Wednesday that it deeply regretted the call had been put through.
The hospital is known
for treating royals. In June, Prince Philip, 91, was admitted to the
same hospital with a bladder infection, forcing him to miss part of the
queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration.
The radio show apologized for the call Wednesday, saying it "was done with light-hearted intentions."
The show was known for
its irreverent humor, aimed at a young, mainly female demographic. The
hosts were devoted to gossip and pranks.
Its two DJs, Mel Greig
and Michael Christian, continued to tweet about the call on Thursday and
earlier Friday, promising "more on the #royalprank."
Talking about the call
on air Thursday, Greig said: "They were the world's worst accents ever.
We were sure 100 people at least before us would've tried the same
thing. ... We were expecting to be hung up on -- we didn't even know
what to say when we got through."
Some listeners applauded
the prank, like one who identified himself as Guido on the station's
Facebook page and wrote, "It is only a joke people! it was great i love
it!!!"
Others were outraged, with such negative views outnumbering positive ones on 2DayFM's before the nurse's death.
"Your stunt was done at a
time in this country where there is paranoia about the intrusion of the
media into people's lives," Gary Slenders wrote. "I know you will say
it is harmless fun, the management of 2DayFM will say that it won't
happen again, but this exactly where the phone hacking scandal started."
The outcry grew exponentially after Saldanha's death, leading the Coles supermarket chain to remove all its advertising from 2Day FM in response.
By Friday evening, a
spokeswoman for the station told CNN in a statement that the pair will
"not return to the show until further notice out of respect for what can
only be described as a tragedy." She said Greig and Christian -- whose
Twitter accounts have been taken down -- were "deeply shocked" by the
incident.
It is so common today that people feel no shame or embarrassment for their actions primarily media people (either print, tv, or radio). Anyone with any sense of pride in their work would take this as a serious breach of work ethics or protocol. I can see the nurse's feeling of disrespect for patient confidentiality once the prank came to light. The "pranksters" need to have a consequence of more than just feeling bad. They were ultimately responsible for the nurse's feelings of failure in her duties.
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