Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George

Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have hired Spanish nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo to care for their son Prince George.

The royal couple are "delighted" the full-time child minder has agreed to join their household and will be assisting them during their 19-day trip to Australia and New Zealand next month.

A spokesman for Kensington Palace said: "Maria is a full-time nanny, who started work with us recently, and will be accompanying the Duke and Duchess and Prince George to New Zealand and Australia.

"We will not be giving further details on Maria or her employment, except to say that the Duke and Duchess are of course delighted she has chosen to join them."

Maria trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, which teaches nannies how to care for children during an intensive full-time three-year degree course, costing a total of £36,000.

The nannies are taught how to deal with potential kidnappers with the use of their Tae Kwon-Do skills, intruding paparazzi, and how to drive at high speed in any weather conditions.

Maria, thought to be in her 30s, has been working for the royal family for the past few weeks.

The couple recruited the new child minder to look after eight-month-old George after Jessie Webb, 71, who previously looked after William when he was a child, gave her notice in last month.