THE TRUTH AT LAST

Almost 30 years after shocking allegations, former royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke's name is cleared

- NICI DE WET

NANNIES are as much part of the House of Windsor as footmen and ladies-in-waiting and usually blend into the background squadron of staff that with the keep royal residences running smoothly. Yet one became a household name: Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the nanny hired by Prince Charles to look after his sons in 1993 shortly after he and Princess Diana split.

Tiggy provided love and a shoulder for the boys to cry on as their parents' turbulent marriage played out in the media day after day. And then she too got dragged into the fray.

Tiggy was accused of having an affair with Charles, a rumour planted by now-disgraced BBC journalist Martin Bashir to help him land his infamous Panorama TV interview with Diana in 1995.

It was even claimed Tiggy had an abortion after falling pregnant with Charles' baby. The allegation is one of many proved to have been made up by Bashir to win Diana's confidence and land the scoop of a lifetime.

Now, nearly 30 years later, Tiggy has finally had her named cleared of the "totally unfounded allegations" that have dogged her for decades.

The 57-year-old has received an apology from the BBC and "significant" damages - believed to be in the region of £50 000 (just over R1 million) - following an independent investigation into the BBC as the employer of Bashir. Bashir used fake documents and false information about a tryst involving Tiggy and Charles to coerce Diana to speak to him.

In documents before the London high court, the BBC said they were "extremely sorry for the serious and prolonged harm" caused to Tiggy and her family. After the settlement, Diana's brother, Charles Spencer (58), who has criticised the BBC's "unethical conduct", took to social media to further lambast the organisation.