Two Australian disc jockeys who impersonated Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles were able to get medical details on Kate Middleton’s pregnancy from the royal’s personal nurse on Wednesday.
The conversation with the nurse was aired by little-known DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian on their station 2Day FM, to the embarrassment of hospital and royal staff.
In the prank, the impersonators successfully navigated the hospital’s receptionist and were connected with the Duchess of Cambridge’s personal nurse, who informed the pair that Middleton was “quite stable at the moment, she hasn’t had any retching with me since I’ve been on duty and she has been sleeping on and off.”
The nurse also confirmed the duchess remained on fluids, having been “quite dehydrated when she came.”
The royal family has yet to issue a statement on the issue.
“This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore,” said John Lofthouse, chief executive at the hospital. “We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols.”
Hours after the prank, an apology by 2Day FM for the call was posted by the radio show via Twitter.
“2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the enquiry to Kate's hospital, the radio segment was done with light-hearted intentions, we wish Kate and her family all the best and we're glad to hear she's doing well,” read the station’s tweet.
“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,” Greig and Christian told The Guardian newspaper.
During the call, the DJs are heard interrupting the nurse, with Christian acting as Prince Charles calling out in a nasal, juvenile voice, “Mummy, mummy, mummy,” while a third disc jockey pretends to be a barking dog in an attempt to mimic Queen Elizabeth’s three Corgis.
At one point, in a somewhat posh accent, Greig, acting as the queen, asks Christian, aka Prince Charles, “When are you going to walk those bloody Corgis?”
Christian responds, “Mumsie, I’ll go and take the dogs outside.”
In an unrelated incident, a man wearing a Prince William mask attempted to gain access to King Edward VII hospital, where the duchess is staying. Police quickly escorted him away from the premises.