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The little Prince got many gifts from US. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool

Prince William wrote a letter to the family of the nurse who committed suicide following the infamous Australian radio royal hoax prank. Prince George’s father offered his condolences to Jacintha Saldanha’s family following the nurse’s death in December 2012.

Saldanha was the nurse who transferred Aussie DJs Mel Greig and Mike Christian’s call to Kate Middleton’s room at the King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes in London. The “Hot30 Countdown” radio hosts called the hospital and pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles during their live broadcast in Sydney on December 4. Their careless stunt was highly criticised, though it was three days later when the public knew the real extent of their action.

On December 7, a lifeless Saldanha was found dead in her nurse’s quarters. She left suicide notes, one of which blamed her death on Greig and Christian, saying she felt humiliated by the hoax.

The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Middleton was admitted to the hospital due to severe morning sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum. She stayed in the hospital for three days. Prince William spoke warmly of Saldanha for taking care of his wife in a letter he sent to the nurse’s family.

Ben Barboza, Saldanha’s widower, revealed to the Mail on Sunday that the British prince took time to pen a handwritten note to check up on them following the healthcare worker’s death. He dated the letter on New Year’s Day 2013.

“It is unbelievably sad and we both extend to and your family our deepest condolences,” the 32-year-old future king wrote. “We were both very shocked to hear about Jacintha and have been thinking about her a lot recently. Many of the nurses spoke highly of her and I’m sure you know how great a nurse she was.”

Prince William continued, “Jacintha and her colleagues looked after us extremely well and I am just so sorry that someone who cared for others so much found themselves in a desperate situation.

“This letter comes with my thoughts and prayers to you all. With my condolences, William.”

Barboza also said that he and his two children, Junal and Lisha, received condolence letters from around the world. Sarah, Duchess of York, also sent them a touching letter, sending the children her love.

The Southern Cross Austereo, which owns the 2DayFM radio program, cancelled the “Hot30 Countdown” more than a month following the incident. Christian returned to his DJ hosting duties in February, and even won the Top Jock award in June for his work on Fox FM. Greig remained off-air, and eventually sued the company for failing to provide a safe workplace. The suit was settled the following December.