A former nanny to Prince William and Prince Harry may have found her most unusual job to date - knitting wooly socks. But Alexandra Pettifer, better known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, is hard at work for a very important cause, as her creations are set to be auctioned for charity. And cash raised from the sale will be used to fund research to help stop salmon disappearing from Scotland's rivers.
Her creations will go under the hammer at an auction by one of King Charles' key charities, Atlantic Salmon Trust. The trust, of which the monarch is a patron, wrote to river owners throughout the UK and Ireland asking for donations for its online auction, ahead of its closing date on November 17.
Among the prizes will be bespoke knitwear, lovingly created by Alexandra, who is herself an advanced fly fishing instructor. Advertising the lot on its website, the Trust said: ""The surprise and runaway success from last year's auction is back! Made especially for you, the AST's very own Tiggy Pettifer will knit you a bespoke pair of his and hers wading socks - this year with an added beanie hat! A most coveted item, get your bids in fast as in previous years these socks sold for over £1,000 for one pair alone!" To date, the highest bid stands at £500.
The news comes after it was revealed earlier this year that the BBC is paying damages to the ex-nanny over false claims made about her to obtain a 1995 Princess Diana interview. Mrs Pettifer was given an apology at the High Court over unfounded allegations she had an affair with Prince Charles and an abortion.
Her solicitor said the false claims had caused "serious personal consequences". A probe has already found Panorama's Martin Bashir used fake documents to win Diana's trust.
The interview - viewed by 22.8m in the UK and broadcast three years after Prince Charles and Diana separated - was described by commentators at the time as a "bombshell" that destroyed the image of a "contented, caring and united" Royal Family. The BBC said that it was "extremely sorry for the serious and prolonged harm" caused to Mrs Pettifer and her family following the broadcast.
In an agreed statement read out in court, Mrs Pettifer's solicitor Louise Prince said the claims had included "the very serious and totally unfounded allegations that the claimant was having an affair with HRH Prince of Wales, resulting in a pregnancy which was aborted".
"These allegations were fabricated."
She said Mrs Pettifer had not known the source of the claims over the last 25 years, but it was "likely that these false and malicious allegations arose as a result and in the context of BBC Panorama's efforts to procure an exclusive interview with Diana, Princess of Wales". Ms Prince said the former nanny was "relieved that the BBC accepts that the allegations are completely untrue and without any foundation whatsoever".
The corporation agreed to pay Mrs Pettifer a substantial, undisclosed sum and her legal costs. As part of the statement, the BBC said it fully accepted the claims against Mrs Pettifer "were wholly baseless, should never have been made, and that the BBC did not, at the time, adequately investigate serious concerns" over how it had secured the Panorama interview.
It said that had it done so earlier, it could have corrected the false statements and "this may well have diminished the harm" caused to Mrs Pettifer and her family over many years.
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