Jacintha Saldanha: 'Excellent nurse' who took Kate Middleton prank phone call found dead in suspected suicide

A receptionist at the private hospital which treated the Duchess of Cambridge has died in a suspected suicide – two days after being duped by an amateurish hoax from an Australian radio station.

The woman"s unconscious body was found at an address yards away from King Edward VII Hospital, where she worked, just before 9.30am today.

The emergency services were called and two ambulances were despatched to the central London residence.

But paramedics were unable to revive her and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Friend: The receptionist who has died was a trained nurse helping answer the phones on the day of the hoax

Officers from Scotland Yard launched an investigation yesterday and are treating the death as ‘unexplained".

The exact cause of death remained unclear. However, one source indicated that the woman appeared to have killed herself.

Two days earlier the receptionist took a phone call from giggling DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles.

 

Presenters: Mel Greig (left) and Michael Christian (right) made the call about the Duchess

Impersonating the Queen, Miss Greig said: ‘Oh, hello there. Could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter?"

Thinking she was speaking to the Queen, the receptionist replied: ‘Oh yes, just hold on ma"am".

She then put the presenters through to one of the nurses who was caring for the Duchess.

The nurse also believed she was speaking to the Queen and went on to make a number of deeply personal observations about Kate"s health.

A recording of the entire conversation was played on the Sydney-based radio station 2Day.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said yesterday: ‘Police were called at approximately 9.25am on Friday, December 7, to a report of a woman found unconscious an address in Weymouth Street, W1.

‘London Ambulance Service attended and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

'Inquiries are continuing to establish the circumstances of the incident.

‘The death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage".

Third visit: Prince William (centre) arrives at the King Edward VII Hospital to visit his wife the Duchess of Cambridge in central London yesterday, as news was developing of the extraordinary call