Prince William and Kate 'shocked and saddened' over 'tragic' death of his former nanny's stepson
Edward Pettifer was killed in the New Orleans attackPrince William and wife Kate have been left “shocked” and “saddened” following a tragic death.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, 42, issued a tribute to their social media pages at the weekend. It came following the death of William’s childhood nanny’s stepson Edward Pettifer.
Edward is the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke – who was Prince William and Prince Harry’s nanny when they were children. She was also a personal assistant to King Charles when he was the Prince of Wales from 1993 to 1999.
Prince William and Kate pay tribute to Edward Pettifer
Prince William said in the tribute: “Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.”
Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.
Tragically, Edward was one of the 14 people who were killed in the New Orleans terror attack. He was 31.
On January 1, 2025 a man drove a truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in the US city. He was the son of Charles Pettifer and Camilla Wyatt.
Meanwhile, King Charles is said to be “deeply saddened” by the news, and has reportedly been in touch with Edward’s family privately.
Edward Pettifer’s connection to the royal family
Edward’s step-mother Tiggy worked for the monarchy in the 1990s. She was hired as William and Harry’s nanny in 1993, shortly after Charles’ separation from Princess Diana.
Tiggy resigned in early 1997. But she returned to the royal household a few months later. She also supported a young William and Harry following the death of their mother Diana in August of that year.
She finally retired in 1999 when she got married to Charles Pettifer.
Prince Harry has been told of Edward’s death, but won’t be commenting publicly.
Meanwhile, Edward’s family described him as a “wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend to so many”.
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They said: “We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack.
“We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you.”
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