Royal fans got their first glimpse of Princess Eugenie’s apparent nanny for her two sons August and Ernest Brooksbank yesterday.
Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, 35, and her husband Jack, 39, joined other members of the Royal Family at the King’s annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
Eugenie – daughter of disgraced former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Sarah Ferguson – was spotted in the front passenger seat of her car while her husband drove them into the royal residence.
But it was the woman sitting in the middle seat on the back row – thought to be between both August, four, and Ernest, two – that really caught people’s attention.
Believed to be the royal’s nanny, the unidentified passenger sported an eye-catching nose ring as well as blonde and black hair.
Her trendy look was worlds away from the prim and proper appearance of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, who also attended the lunch.
She was photographed in a car alongside Prince William and Princess Charlotte as they joined Kate and Princes George and Louis at the royal gathering.
Maria, a graduate of the prestigious nanny school Norland College, in Bath, was hired by the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2014 to help them look after George when he was eight months old. She now cares for Charlotte and Louis too.
Hi! I’m Richard Eden, Diary Editor and author of the Palace Confidential newsletter.
And I’ve got a challenge for you. In Thursday’s newsletter I’ll share my fiendishly tricky Royals quiz – and I want to see how much you know. Sign up here to get involved.
She lived with the family at Kensington Palace but when they moved into Adelaide Cottage in Windsor’s Home Park she stopped being a live-in nanny. However, she has continued to care for the children while living at another property.
At the time she was hired, Kensington Palace released a statement saying: ‘Maria is a full-time nanny, who started work with us recently, and will be accompanying the Duke and Duchess and Prince George to New Zealand and Australia.
It added: ‘We will not be giving further details on Maria or her employment, except to say that the Duke and Duchess are of course delighted she has chosen to join them.’
Maria was born in Madrid but grew up in Palencia in northern Spain.
She is said to have been nicknamed Santa – Spanish for saint – by those closest to her when she was a youngster.
Maria trained at the prestigious Norland College, where students are known for their distinctive uniforms and are schooled in all aspects of looking after youngsters during their three-year degree course.
The training costs £36,000 in total and the college added martial arts training and stunt driving to its curriculum to cater for modern clients – many of whom are celebrities and the super-rich.
Tae Kwon-Do is believed to be the martial art of choice – which has been specially adapted to include how to dodge a potential kidnapper with a pram.
Nannies are also trained in how to deal with paparazzi and are taken to Castle Combe Racing Circuit in Wiltshire to perfect their driving skills and learn how to drive at high speed in any weather condition.
Friends in Maria’s hometown have previously claimed she would have become a nun had she not ended up pursuing her passion for looking after children.
Her austere lifestyle made her the perfect candidate to become a servant of God, they said.
Ms Borrallo’s brother Luis did follow a religious pathway, having been ordained a deacon in 2011.
Born in Madrid, but having grown up in Palencia, she is the second eldest of four children, born to an engineer father Luis, who died of cancer, and her teacher mother, Maria Teresa.
She attended church regularly with the rest of her family as she was growing up.
Ms Borrallo left Spain for the UK more than 20 years ago after graduating with a degree in teaching. However she returns to Palencia to see her family whenever she gets a chance.
One of her brothers, Ignacio, teaches viola and violin to private students in the area.
He boasted on an online CV that he is one of the most sought-after violin and viola teachers in Spain’s Castile and Leon region, with more than 20 years’ experience at conservatories and music schools in his home country and Canada.
Her youngest brother Pablo is a teacher who worked in the south of France.
