Fascinating details about Prince William and Princess Kate’s ‘Secret Weapon’

When Prince William and Princess Kate began their family 11 years ago, they enlisted a highly skilled 'secret weapon' to care for their children. 

The couple’s three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—benefit from extensive Royal Family security, but they are especially close with one particular staff member, reported Mirror.

Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, the children’s nanny, was hired by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2014 when George was just eight months old. 

She has been with the family ever since, caring for all three of their children. However, Maria is not your average nanny. She trained at Norland College in Bath, Somerset, which is renowned for preparing childcare professionals for roles with royalty and celebrities.

Norland nannies are easily recognized by their distinctive uniforms, which have been in use since 1892. These include a beige dress, shrug, bowler hat, and gloves. Maria has been seen in this traditional attire at official family events, such as Princess Charlotte's christening.

According to the college's website, the nannies receive "specialist security training from former military intelligence officers, including how to stay safe online and how to deal with potential security risks". Furthermore, they are given "self-defence training led by a highly respected 7th-degree black belt in Taekwondo".

The site reads: "You'll undertake skid pan driving in your final year during Employment Weeks to learn how to control a car under any circumstances, including adverse weather conditions, handling distractions from children in the vehicle and other potential hazards and risks." Maria is expected to have undergone additional training specifically for the Waleses.

Dr Janet Rose, the principal of Norland College, previously spoke about new training for the nannies in the Royal Baby documentary: "Some of the more recent editions to the programme, more cutting edge that fit more with the 21st century, include the security and cyber security training with our former military intelligence officers, for example.

"So some people have made jokes about 'It's James Bond meets Mary Poppins', but of course, we are not trying to turn our graduates into bodyguards. But at the same time in many respects, we want our nannies to be as fun and loving as Mary Poppins was." Much like his own children, William had a Norland nanny called Tiggy Legge-Bourke.