The ex-nanny to Princes William and Harry has remained a close confidante to the royal family, even serving as godmother to Harry and Meghan Markle’s son, Archie
King Charles was reported to be “deeply saddened” after police said a British relative of his sons’ former nanny was among the victims of the deadly truck-ramming attack in New Orleans.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack,” he wrote on the couple’s Kensington Palace social media account.
In the history of royal nannies, Tiggy Legge-Bourke – whose married name is Alexandra Pettifer – is probably the most well-known and arguably the most controversial one. But she recently cleared her name of the “totally unfounded allegations” about her supposed relationship with then Prince Charles, per People. Legge-Bourke looked after Prince William and Prince Harry from 1993 to
In 2022, Legge-Bourke made global headlines after winning her defamation case against the BBC and receiving a substantial payout.
So, who exactly is Tiggy Legge-Bourke and where is she now
Legge-Bourke was born in 1965 in Wales to a father who once served in the Royal Horse Guards and a mother who became a lady-in-waiting to Princess Anne. According to British media, her sister Zara asked Princess Anne’s daughter Zara to be a bridesmaid at her wedding, while her brother Harry was a page of honour to Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Charles appointed Legge-Bourke as his two sons’ royal nanny soon after his separation from Princess Diana in 1993. She was also working as Charles’ assistant.
Legge-Bourke grew close to the boys and often went on holidays abroad with them. She kept in touch with them after she retired in 1999, and they attended her wedding that same year, per BBC.
Legge-Bourke’s tight bond with the young princes sparked quite the tension between her and their mum, Diana. According to reports, Diana disliked her habit of smoking around them, and the royal nanny even once referred to William and Harry as “my babies”.
On top of all this, BBC journalist Martin Bashir allegedly deceived Diana into thinking that Charles had an affair with Legge-Bourke and that she even became pregnant with the prince’s child, but had it terminated. Bashir presented the late princess with fabricated documents to land his infamous BBC interview with her in 1995
Per The Times, the network paid the former nanny around US$240,000 for damages and legal costs, and said that it would never allow the interview to be aired again.
Legge-Bourke released her own statement, expressing her disappointment on how “it needed legal action for the BBC to recognise the serious harm I have been subjected to”
Legge-Bourke has remained a steadfast figure in the lives of Prince William and Prince Harry, who are reportedly both godfathers to her kids. Legge-Bourke’s son Tom Pettifer served as a page boy at William’s wedding in 2011 and the former nanny attended Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding in 2018. She was also named a godmother to the Sussexes’ first child, Archie, according to a report from The Sunday Times.
Away from the glare of the royal spotlight, Legge-Bourke lives on the Glanusk Estate in Wales with her husband, Charles Pettifer. They run their own farmhouse bed and breakfast, per Hello!
