Olga Powell, Nanny To Princes William And Harry, Dies At 82

Broxbourne, United Kingdom – Olga Powell, the royal nanny who cared for Prince William and Prince Harry for more than 15 years, has died. She was 82.

Widow Olga collapsed on her doorstep at about 10 am (GMT) Tuesday, reports The Mirror. Both princes were reportedly left devastated by the news, with a spokesperson for William and Harry saying:

“The princes have been informed and are very saddened to hear the news.”

Olga looked after the princes while they lived at Kensington Palace. She was a nanny to the young royals for 15 years and was with them as their parents divorced and when their mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997.

The nanny received an invite to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton last year and only last week wrote to Harry to express concern for his safety after his military camp in Afghanistan was the target of a Taliban attack.

In an interview in 2011 conducted shortly before William and Kate tied the knot, Olga reflected on how the two princes “were just like any other children” and “like my grandsons.” She added:

“I have a very normal relationship with them. Their upbringing was very normal and their parents wanted them to have as ordinary a childhood as they could. If they saw a muddy puddle they wanted to jump in it and if there was something to climb, they wanted to climb it.”

Three years after retiring from her nanny role, Olga Powell was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal.