King Charles III ‘deeply saddened’ as UK victim of New Orleans attack named
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Mr Edward Pettifer, 31, who died in the atrocity, was the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny, Ms Tiggy Pettifer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – King Charles III was on Jan 4 said to be “deeply saddened” after police said a British national, a relative of his sons’ former nanny, had been among the victims of the deadly truck-ramming attack that killed 14 people
Mr Edward Pettifer, 31, who died in the atrocity, was the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny, MsTiggy Pettifer.
It was “understood the King was... deeply saddened, and had been in touch with the family to share personal condolences”, Britain’s Press Association news agency said in a report.
Heir to the throne Prince William said he and his wife Catherine had also been “shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer”.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack,” he wrote on the couple’s Kensington Palace social media account.
Mr Pettifer’s half-brother, Tom, is a godson of heir to the throne Prince William and was a page boy at his wedding to Catherine, the Princess of Wales in 2011.
In 1993, King Charles employed Ms Tiggy Legge-Bourke, now Pettifer, whose family had longstanding links to the royals, as a nanny for Prince William and Prince Harry after his separation from Princess Diana.
“The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew, and a friend to so many. We will all miss him terribly,” Mr Pettifer’s family said in a statement.
On New Year’s Day, a US army veteran, who the FBI says pledged loyalty to the Islamic State jihadist group, used a pickup truck to kill and wound revellers in New Orleans’s crowded French Quarter, before being killed by police.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “extremely saddened” to learn a British man had been among those killed in the attack.
“We are supporting his family and stand united with the US against terror threats,” he wrote on X. AFP
