Duchess of Cambridge’s hospital nurse who took prank call found dead

The nurse who was attending to Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, during her hospital stay that received the prank call from a pair of Australian DJs was found dead. Officials suspect suicide.

Jacintha Saldanha, who was the first nurse at the King Edward VII Hospital to accept the prank call from the DJs, was found dead Friday. In a statement to the BBC, the hospital confirmed her death. She was not reprimanded for accepting the call and St. James Palace had never complained the incident.

“We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital,” the statement read. “The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time.Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII's Hospital for more than four years. She was an excellent nurse and well-respected and popular with all of her colleagues.”

The Royal Family also issued a statement, sending their condolences to Saldanha’s family and praising her work during Kate’s stay.

St. James Palace’s statement noted that the Prince William and the duchess “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.”

The statement noted, “...We offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times.”

CNN notes that Saldhana spoke only briefly with the DJs before transferring the call to Kate’s ward. The DJs managed to get new information on Kate’s condition as they pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.

The radio station did apologize for the prank on Tuesday, saying, “The radio segment was done with the best intentions, we're glad to hear Kate is doing well and we wish her all the best.”

Kate left the hospital on Thursday morning. The Palace confirmed that she is pregnant on Monday.