 Saldanha in a family photograph | |
| Date | 7 December 2012 |
|---|---|
| Location | Charterhouse Annexe, King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes, Westminster, Greater London |
| Cause | Suicide |
| Burial | 17 December 2012, Shirva, Karnataka, India |
| Inquest | Preliminary held 13 December 2012, full 11 & 12 September 2014[1][2] |
| Convictions | None |
Jacintha Saldanha (24 March 1966 – 7 December 2012) was an Indian nurse who worked at King Edward VII's Hospital in the City of Westminster, London. On 7 December 2012, she was found dead by suicide, three days after falling for a prank phone call as part of a radio stunt. In the prank call, the hosts of the Australian radio programme Hot30 Countdown, broadcast on the Southern Cross Austereo owned station 2Day FM in Sydney, called Saldanha's hospital and impersonated the Queen and the then-Prince of Wales enquiring about the health of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who was a patient there at the time. Saldanha fell for the hoax and transferred the call to the nurse looking after the Duchess.
Saldanha's suicide led to public outrage, including in Saldanha's home country, against those responsible for perpetrating and broadcasting the prank. Despite numerous calls for legal action, no charges were laid.
- ^ "Jacintha Saldanha inquest: Australian radio station donates $500,000 to family of nurse who killed herself after royal prank call". The Independent. 13 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ Caroline Davies (12 September 2014). "DJ apologises to Jacintha Saldanha's family as nurse's death ruled suicide". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2017.