King Charles was “deeply saddened” to learn that the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, Prince William and Prince Harry’s beloved childhood nanny, was among the 14 people killed in the New Orleans terror attack.
On New Year’s Day, a pick-up truck rammed into crowds on Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans, killing Edward Pettifer, 31. Despite the fact that Tiggy was already Edward’s godmother, Edward’s father married her after their divorce.
Tiggy remained close to Harry and William, whom she cared for from 1993 to 1999.
In his memoir Spare, Harry referred to Tiggy as a “surrogate mum.” He also stated that she was one of the few people to directly “chastise me for Oprah,” referring to the contentious interview he and Meghan Markle gave with Oprah Winfrey in which they claimed Meghan was subjected to prejudiced questioning about her then-unborn babies’ likely skin color.
The royals who allegedly expressed “concerns” were later revealed to be King Charles and Kate, which is at the heart of William’s refusal to reconcile with his brother.
William and Harry are also godfathers to Tiggy’s children, Edward’s half-siblings.
William expressed his condolences in a statement released via the official Prince and Princess of Wales X account.
“Catherine and I were shocked and saddened by Ed Pettifer’s tragic death. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pettifer family and all of the innocent people who have been tragically affected by this horrific attack,” he wrote, signing off with “W.”
Harry has yet to comment.
Pettifer’s family has requested privacy, but given the feuding brothers’ close ties to the family, it appears unlikely that they will attend Edward’s funeral or memorial.
According to an official source, King Charles was “deeply saddened” by the news and has expressed his condolences to Edward’s family in private.
Meghan McCain called Meghan Markle “utterly tone deaf to the moment” for launching an Instagram account promoting a trailer for her new cooking show in the hours following the horrific attack, but few could have predicted her husband would have such a close connection to one of the victims.
