Prince Charles' Nanny Got Fired for Trying to Overrule the Queen

22nd august 1955 queen elizabeth ii with princess anne, prince charles and their nurse, helen lightbody, at a stall during a sale of work event in abergeldie castle, near balmoral castle in aberdeenshire they are raising funds for the building of a new vestry at craithie church photo by fox photosgetty images

(Image credit: Fox Photos)

published 27 September 2020

Even though jobs working for the royal family (opens in new tab) are often highly coveted, not everyone who ends up on the royal payroll is cut out for keeping their gig long-term.
In his new book Long Live the Queen! 13 Rules for Living from Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch (opens in new tab), royal author Bryan Kozlowski shares a story about Helen Lightbody, who worked as Prince Charles' nanny when he was a young boy. Lightbody ended up being fired when she tried to overrule the Queen.
According to Kozlowski, the final straw came when Charles was eight years old and the Queen ordered a pudding for Charles' menu. Lightbody decided the pudding wasn't a good idea and crossed the Queen's request off the menu.

Working for the royal family might seem like a dream job, but not everyone is cut out for it. In fact, when Prince Charles (opens in new tab) was a boy, he had a nanny who the Queen (opens in new tab) ended up having to fire.

Royal author Bryan Kozlowski (opens in new tab) shares the story in his new book Long Live the Queen! 13 Rules for Living from Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch (opens in new tab). The nanny in question was a woman named Helen Lightbody (which is a very British nanny name to have), and she was reportedly very particular, especially when it came to Charles' diet (opens in new tab). Lightbody actually appears in several pictures with Charles and even with the Queen (opens in new tab) from her days on the royal staff:

"It's said [Lightbody] took pleasure in tormenting the Palace kitchen with her exacting standards," Kozlowski wrote of the former royal nanny. "Dishes for young Chrales were constantly being refused or remade based on little more than Nanny Lightbody's personal whims. The Queen eventually had enough and fired her."

Long Live the Queen: 23 Rules for Living from Britain’s Longest-Reigning Monarch

So, what finally drove the Queen (opens in new tab) to give Lightbody the boot? According to Kozlowski, it all came down to the pudding incident.

"In 1956, the Queen sent the nursery a simple request that Charles, then eight years old, be given a special pudding she thought he might like," Kozlowski writes. "nanny Lightbody refused, crossed the dessert from the menu, and incurred the Crown's wrath. Nobody crosses out the Queen's request."

That's a lesson to live by.

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.