Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty
01of 05Olga PowellPrince William, Princess Diana, Prince Harry and Olga Powell.Tim Graham Photo Library/GettyOlga Powell joined the royal family whenPrince Williamwas 6 months old and became a beloved figure for bothPrince WilliamandPrince Harryuntil her death in 2012 at age 82. “I have a very normal relationship with them,” Powell told theHertfordshire Mercuryahead of William’s 2011 wedding toKate Middleton.Despite their extraordinary birthright, “their parents wanted them to have as ordinary a childhood as they could,” she said. “If they saw a muddy puddle, they wanted to jump in it, and if there was something to climb, they wanted to climb it.“Yet Powell was far more than a nanny: She helped support the brothers during Charles and Diana’s divorce and comforted them after Diana’s death in 1997. On the day of Powell’s funeral, William canceled four high-profile engagements to attend her service. (Harry was serving in Afghanistan.) In a touching reminder of her close relationship with the brothers, she requested that mourners make donations to Harry’s charity Sentebale.
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Olga Powell
Prince William, Princess Diana, Prince Harry and Olga Powell.Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
Olga Powell joined the royal family whenPrince Williamwas 6 months old and became a beloved figure for bothPrince WilliamandPrince Harryuntil her death in 2012 at age 82. “I have a very normal relationship with them,” Powell told theHertfordshire Mercuryahead of William’s 2011 wedding toKate Middleton.
Despite their extraordinary birthright, “their parents wanted them to have as ordinary a childhood as they could,” she said. “If they saw a muddy puddle, they wanted to jump in it, and if there was something to climb, they wanted to climb it.”
Yet Powell was far more than a nanny: She helped support the brothers during Charles and Diana’s divorce and comforted them after Diana’s death in 1997. On the day of Powell’s funeral, William canceled four high-profile engagements to attend her service. (Harry was serving in Afghanistan.) In a touching reminder of her close relationship with the brothers, she requested that mourners make donations to Harry’s charity Sentebale.
02of 05Barbara BarnesBarbara Barnes.David Levenson/GettyBarbara Barnes cared forPrince Williamfrom birth until the age of 4, becoming something of a surrogate mother to him as well as toddler Harry. “She was an old-fashioned nanny in the sense that her prime concern, although she would never admit it, was the heir to the throne,” ex-royal staffer Wendy Berry wrote in her 1995 memoirThe Housekeeper’s Diary.Still, both William and Harry “adored her,” said Berry.“Baba,” as the princes called her, would not be in the brothers' lives for long. Her belief that royal children should be raised differently from other kids led to clashes with Diana, who wanted her sons brought up as normally as possible. “So far as the boys were concerned, she just vanished into thin air,” Robert Lacey wrote inBattle of Brothersabout her reported sudden dismissal in January 1987, adding that Barnes “was forbidden even to send them a postcard.”
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Barbara Barnes
Barbara Barnes.David Levenson/Getty
Barbara Barnes cared forPrince Williamfrom birth until the age of 4, becoming something of a surrogate mother to him as well as toddler Harry. “She was an old-fashioned nanny in the sense that her prime concern, although she would never admit it, was the heir to the throne,” ex-royal staffer Wendy Berry wrote in her 1995 memoirThe Housekeeper’s Diary.Still, both William and Harry “adored her,” said Berry.
“Baba,” as the princes called her, would not be in the brothers' lives for long. Her belief that royal children should be raised differently from other kids led to clashes with Diana, who wanted her sons brought up as normally as possible. “So far as the boys were concerned, she just vanished into thin air,” Robert Lacey wrote inBattle of Brothersabout her reported sudden dismissal in January 1987, adding that Barnes “was forbidden even to send them a postcard.”
03of 05Alexandra “Tiggy” PettiferAlexandra “Tiggy” Pettifer.ALPHA PRESSAlexandra Pettifer (known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke before taking her husband’s surname) had a family history with the royals before being hired as a nanny forPrince WilliamandPrince Harryin 1993: her mother had been a lady-in-waiting to Princess Anne.She approached the role of nanny with enthusiasm, encouraging the princes to enjoy the traditional royal pursuits of hunting, fishing and shooting and regularly joining them on vacation.Like Olga Powell, Pettifer later played a key role in the brothers' lives following their mother’s death and has remained close since. Both princes attended her 1999 wedding to security consultant Charles Pettifer, and she was a guest at Harry’s 2018 wedding toMeghan Markle.Yet her ties to the royal family have also brought unwanted attention. In early 2021, it was revealed that disgraced former BBC reporter Martin Bashir had produced a fake receipt allegedly showing thatPrince Charleshad paid for Pettifer to have an abortion—a ploy to feed Diana’s paranoia that Pettifer and Charles were having an affair. (The claim was unfounded.)
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Alexandra “Tiggy” Pettifer
Alexandra “Tiggy” Pettifer.ALPHA PRESS
Alexandra Pettifer (known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke before taking her husband’s surname) had a family history with the royals before being hired as a nanny forPrince WilliamandPrince Harryin 1993: her mother had been a lady-in-waiting to Princess Anne.
She approached the role of nanny with enthusiasm, encouraging the princes to enjoy the traditional royal pursuits of hunting, fishing and shooting and regularly joining them on vacation.
Like Olga Powell, Pettifer later played a key role in the brothers' lives following their mother’s death and has remained close since. Both princes attended her 1999 wedding to security consultant Charles Pettifer, and she was a guest at Harry’s 2018 wedding toMeghan Markle.
Yet her ties to the royal family have also brought unwanted attention. In early 2021, it was revealed that disgraced former BBC reporter Martin Bashir had produced a fake receipt allegedly showing thatPrince Charleshad paid for Pettifer to have an abortion—a ploy to feed Diana’s paranoia that Pettifer and Charles were having an affair. (The claim was unfounded.)
04of 05Maria Teresa Turrion BorralloMaria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.Chris Jackson/GettyThe Spanish-born nanny joined William and Kate in 2014 whenPrince Georgewas 8 months old and has been a Kensington Palace fixture ever since. “Maria loves the children dearly,” says a source. “She can be firm and strict, but she is very loving and soft with them too.“Turrion Borrallo trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, England, where nannies are taught everything from child brain development to first aid to evasive driving techniques. Above all, Turrion Borrallo possesses the key skill of a modern royal nanny: the ability to always be present when needed but never to overstep. “In the past, royal nannies were employed almost entirely on the basis of referrals from the extended royal family and British aristocracy,” says Carolyn Harris, author ofRaising Royalty.“Today, royal nannies need to strike a delicate balance between providing care and emotional support for their charge while not being seen to interfere with the decision-making of royal parents.”
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Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo
Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.Chris Jackson/Getty
The Spanish-born nanny joined William and Kate in 2014 whenPrince Georgewas 8 months old and has been a Kensington Palace fixture ever since. “Maria loves the children dearly,” says a source. “She can be firm and strict, but she is very loving and soft with them too.”
Turrion Borrallo trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, England, where nannies are taught everything from child brain development to first aid to evasive driving techniques. Above all, Turrion Borrallo possesses the key skill of a modern royal nanny: the ability to always be present when needed but never to overstep. “In the past, royal nannies were employed almost entirely on the basis of referrals from the extended royal family and British aristocracy,” says Carolyn Harris, author ofRaising Royalty.“Today, royal nannies need to strike a delicate balance between providing care and emotional support for their charge while not being seen to interfere with the decision-making of royal parents.”
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Marion Crawford
Marion Crawford.Historia/Shutterstock
Crawford was never forgiven, and neither the Queen or Princess Margaret ever spoke to her again. “She went back up to Scotland, and when she died, the royal family didn’t send a wreath to her funeral,” says Tinniswood. “It’s a given that you don’t tell—and they never, ever forgave her for it.”
source: people.com
