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| Kate Middleton and Prince William (Image: Mirror.co.uk) |
To hear a story of new life to be brought to this earth are usually heart-warming and, on the whole, very good news to relatives and friends to the newborn. It was meant to be the case for Kate Middleton as the Duchess of Cambridge is with child and husband Prince William has been leading the support for the royal who is set to give birth to the third in line to the throne.
William's delight has echoed to the minds of millions across the world, and they have every right to celebrate. With over 20 million of Britons witnessing the couple's wedding almost two years ago, Kate's pregnancy is bound to get people excited. Stoke-based pottery maker, Emma Bridgewater has announced her new "A Royal Baby in 2013" mug range and I'm sure, closer to the unconfirmed birth date, there will be more reason to boost the economy by spending lots of merchandise to remember such a potentially historic occasion.
But wait, there could be more surprises to come as rumours have flown about suggesting Kate Middleton may give birth to twins. Just imagine, the second child losing out on being third in line by minutes? It would be tragic to say the least. Why could the Duchess of Cambridge have twins, sources reveal that Kate was suffering from severe morning sickness. There is a proper name for it but if I wrote it down, a large likeliness of me forgetting it afterwards would be high. Severe morning sickness is quite rare for expected mothers but in some cases, this illness which Kate has suffered, could lead to her giving birth to twins.
Regardless of the amount of children Kate Middleton might have, the news sounds exciting - even for the people rolling their eyes over the huge amount of coverage this pregnancy has been given. It has taken our minds off the depressing economic situation at present. No wonder David Cameron wanted to lead tributes of his own to the royal couple.
However, this story would not have received so much coverage if it had not been for the horrible situations which occurred moments after Buckingham Palace announced the pregnancy. In Sydney, Australia, people took the news by surprise, like everyone else, but one radio station took their element of happiness over the news that step further. Two presenters from 2DayFM, Michael Christian and Mel Greig performed a prank call to King Edward VII hospital, where Kate Middleton was staying at the time. They impersonated themselves as the current Queen of England, grandmother of Prince William and his father, Prince Charles, along with the Welsh Corgis, mimicked by some of the station's producers. Describing it like this seems clear that this was going to be a light-hearted prank with little malice intended. However, much to their surprise, they got through to the hospital and the radio station was forwarded to the ward Kate was staying in and a conversation between the nurse and supposedly, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles lasted for just under four minutes with no interruptions and no suspicions by the two nurses involved in the exchange. The two radio presenters were gobsmacked, as you might imagine. "The easiest prank call", one proclaimed.
The radio broadcast, being live at the time, went viral and people across the world were angered by the station and presenters. People were discussing who was to blame and it seemed clear that both the nurses and presenters broke certain rules and lacked basic responsibilities. Overall, and still counting, that broadcast alone received thousands of complaints and the Australian broadcasting regulators are investigating appropriate actions to take. Whatever the outcome, it may not affect anyone involved as much as the next twist to the awful turn of events which followed.
Moments after the radio broadcast, breaking news emerged that the nurse, who forwarded the station to Kate's ward, Jacintha Saldanha, was found hanged in her London accommodation. She was 46, living in Bristol and was a mother-of-two. When I first heard this story, I was speechless. It is remarkable how someone could take their life over one pregnancy news which spiralled out of control. I heard radio broadcasts, read newspaper articles and watched news broadcasts in the run up to the nurse's death and I was astonished how the whole world criticised someone they don't know for something they could have easily been fooled by. I know I would have been fooled by the pranksters. Imagine if someone went on the phone to me and said "this is the Queen", I say "Yeah, right" and disconnect the phone only for it to be Her Royal Highness - I would have been criticised even more. Breaching security or not, morally, you cannot take risks like that. Regardless, the nurse is sadly no longer with us and this leads with more questions which need answering. Could one story like this leave us literally losing the will to live? There must have been more to this sorry story, I'm certain of it however, I don't want to speculate.
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| Michael Christian and Mel Greig (Image: theage.com.au) |
In Australia, the two radio presenters heard the news of suicide and like everyone else, they were shocked. But then, they became the most hated duo of 2012. I don't want to imagine the amount of abuse they have received on social media and hate mail. Consequently, both presenters closed their Twitter accounts and have been dismissed from their duties at the radio station until further notice. The Sydney-based station paid their respect and offered sympathies to Jacintha Saldanha's family by donating AUS$500,000 to support them during their tough times.
Back to the presenters' abuse and both Mel Greig and Michael Christian appeared on Australian national television looking drained, depressed, gloomy and extremely emotional. It was visibly clear how upset and devastated they were about the whole thing. They openly said, they only intended for the prank to be light comedy - nothing more, but the unfortunate circumstances afterwards became no laughing matter. The 15-minute interview was both compelling and, most importantly, genuine.
However, it hasn't stopped the widespread anger towards the presenters. The suicide, leading onto the abuse towards them became so traumatic they are now in a "safehouse" away from all the negative media attention coming by force to their direction.
If you're asking me, I do not blame anyone for the prank call. The nurse who sadly committed suicide was completely innocent, and so are the radio presenters. The Jacintha Saldanha's family haven't condemned the presenters so why should we? The royal family hasn't condemned the presenters so why should we? It's simply another excuse to attack a media's role under such awful circumstance. Remember, it's the media which got people talking about the pregnancy in the first place. I never want anything bad to happen to people who don't deserve it. I offer my sincere condolences to Jacintha's relatives and friends while at the same time hope no more tragedies occur. Let's hope that this pregnancy will go well for Kate and that the world will be united for the birth of her child, or children.
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