A Brit was among the 14 people killed in the horrendous terror attack in New Orleans. It has come to light that the 31-year-old deceased, Edward Pettifer, shared strong ties with the Royal Family.
Pettifer is the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who used to work as Prince William and Prince Harry’s nanny.
Pettifer died of “blunt force injuries” after the gunman, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, struck partygoers with a pickup truck on New Year’s Day. He is suspected of carrying out the terror attack before being shot dead after an encounter with police.
Pettifer, who was traveling to Louisiana with a companion, later identified as one of the victims.
Pettifer’s family expresses grief in statement
In a heartfelt tribute to the Chelsea-born Brit, his distraught family expressed their grief at his passing.
Calling him a “wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many”, the family said, “We will all miss him terribly,” according to The Sun.
“Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack.”
Edward Pettifer’s mom’s deeper ties with Royals
Later, it was discovered that Pettifer is a stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was employed as a nanny for Prince William and Prince Harry from 1993 to 1999.
After Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997, Tiggy was seen as a crucial part of the brothers’ life.
Tiggy worked as a close aide to the Royals for many years, and she was frequently seen with King Charles.
She is also said to be the godmother to Harry and Meghan’s son Archie.
Also Read: Who was Kareem Badawi? University of Alabama student killed in New Orleans terror attack
King Charles reportedly saddened over Edward Pettifer’s death
According to reports, the monarch is in contact with the devastated family and was heartbroken by Pettifer’s passing. Royal sources further claimed that the King wrote a private letter of condolences to the deceased’s family, Mirror reported
Pettifer was born to Charles Pettifer, 59, a former Coldstream Guards officer, and Camilla Wyatt, 58, a racehorse breeder’s daughter in Chelsea, west London.
The couple split up in the middle of the 1990s before Charles fell in love with the Prince William and Prince Harry’s nanny a few years later.
Edward Pettifer attended esteemed Stowe School in Buckinghamshire and resided in a Chelsea home off King’s Road with his mother and 29-year-old brother Harry.
The FBI declared that Jabbar was “100% inspired by ISIS,” or Islamic State. The federal agency denounced the attack as an “evil” act of terrorism.