Princess Kate and Prince William with their children© JONATHAN BRADY

Inside the world of Princess Kate's remarkable Norland nanny Maria Borrallo

The Wales family have a live-out nanny to help with their three children

Parenting Editor
April 3, 2023

The Prince and Princess of Wales have a busy life with their royal duties and bringing up their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

So it's no wonder that the royal couple employ a nanny – and no ordinary nanny at that. William and Kate chose the Spanish nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo who trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath.

We don't often hear what goes on behind palace doors with royal nannies, but now, in a new book, Gilded Youth, author Tom Quinn has shared fascinating details about the dynamics inside the Wales' household.

Princess Kate's parenting admission revealed...

Tom reveals in the book: "Though Catherine Middleton really is hands-on when it comes to her three children, this is true only relative to earlier royal mothers.

"Much as she would like to be a normal mother who spends most of her time with the children, the huge pressure of royal tradition cannot be ignored and those day and night nurseries and the other children's rooms at Kensington Palace (and more recently Adelaide Cottage and Windsor Castle) did not resound to the sounds of Kate Middleton but rather to the sound of the remarkable bowler hat-wearing Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, a Spanish nanny employed in 2014 when Prince George was just eight months old."

MORE:  Everything you need to know about Princess Kate's nanny for George, Charlotte and Louis 

© Chris Jackson

Royal nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo with Prince George

The author refers to past newspaper quotes, which reveal that Maria isn't married or dating, and her life is dedicated to the family she is working with.

Tom Quinn quotes several palace insiders in the book, who speak openly about nanny Maria's character. One told him how the Spanish nanny is highly intelligent, patient and with an instinct for childcare. 

The same insider also claimed that just like the late Princess Diana, there's the sense that Princess Kate occasionally worries her children are closer to their nanny than she or William.

Another palace insider quoted in the book shares that Maria is efficient, good with children and enjoys the "antiquarian" nature of her lifestyle.

© JUSTIN TALLIS

Maria Borrallo, nanny to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

In a recent episode of HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast, trained Norland Nanny Sarah Carpenter revealed how a particular nanny is chosen by a family.

Sarah revealed: "The whole process will be very, very confidential. When we were at college, we had different numbered sets. And within our set, the college had probably already pinpointed a few people that they would have thought were best suited to certain jobs.

"And from then on, you would never know if you were one of those people or not. Everything about Norland and everything about the way we are trained and go out into the wide world was super confidential, so there is no book of either clients or nannies."

She added: "It's very, very much making the right match - and that's important, whether it's a high profile client or just a client like you and I."

 LISTEN:  Why Kate Middleton is unlikely to wear a tiara at Charles' coronation 

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