Bosses of the exclusive London hospital treating Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge have issued an apology after they were duped into giving away the pregnant royal's private medical information.
Prince William's wife checked into the private King Edward VII Hospital to treat a nasty bout of morning sickness shortly before the couple revealed their baby news to the world on Monday.
It has now emerged that hospital staff fell victim to a practical joke by Australian radio presenters on Tuesday when they were tricked into revealing the duchess' current condition.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian from Australia's 2Day FM phoned the hospital, pretending to be members of Britain's royal family, and were put through to Catherine's private nurse who gave them personal information relating to the royal's condition.
The nurse told the pranksters, "She's sleeping at the moment and has had an uneventful night, she's been given some fluids, she's stable at the moment... Will went home at about nine o'clock last night. She's quite stable. She hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off.''
Hospital bosses have now issued an apology and vowed to review confidentiality protocols.
A statement reads, "(The hospital) can confirm that an Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning. This call was transferred through to a ward and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff. King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."
John Lofthouse, chief executive of the King Edward VII Hospital, adds, "This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."
WENN.com