The devotion of a certain class of British boys to their nannies is legendary, and it seems Prince William is no exception.
For the second-in-line to the throne has cancelled his participation in a mini-tour of the north east of England tomorrow to attend the funeral of his former nanny, Olga Powell, who cared for William and Prince Harry when they were young boys, including when their parents marriage was breaking up in the early 1990s.
Both boys were very close to Miss Powell, and regarded her as a key influence on their characters.
A spokesperson for the Prince said: "The Duke of Cambridge will no longer be undertaking the engagements as planned on Wednesday this week in Tyne and Wear and Stockton-on-Tees. His Royal Highness will instead attend the funeral of the late Olga Powell, who was his and Prince Harry’s nanny for much of their childhood. Given the significant role that Mrs. Powell played in the Princes’ lives, The Duke wished to pay his respects in person. Mrs. Powell passed away on 25th September this year."
The palace has emphasised that William will be attending the funeral in a private capacity, and that the press are not welcome.
Indeed, many of the press pack will be following Kate on tour, but it seems unlikely that no photographers will be lying in wait at the funeral which is taking palce outside London.
Mrs Powell, who was in her 80s died after suffering a heart attack.
During an interview she gave last year before William's wedding she said: "I have a very normal relationship with them. Their upbringing was very normal and their parents wanted them to have as ordinary a childhood as they could.
"If they saw a muddy puddle they wanted to jump in it and if there was something to climb, they wanted to climb it."