Who Is Kate Middleton and Prince William's Royal Nanny? All About Maria Borrallo

While Kate Middleton and Prince William are hands-on parents to their three children, they also have the help of their trusted nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.

Borrallo has been a key part of the Prince and Princess of Wales' household since their son Prince George was just 8 months old. She also helped raise Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis while living with the family at their Kensington Palace home.

However, in September 2022, Kate and William moved to Adelaide Cottage on Queen Elizabeth's Windsor estate — and it came with a major change: Borrallo was placed at another property, though she has remained a caretaker for their kids.

So who is Kate Middleton and Prince William’s dutiful nanny? Here’s everything to know about Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo and her history with the royal family.

She attended a prestigious childcare academy

Borrallo was born in Spain and studied at U.K.'s Norland College, which prides itself on being the first educational establishment to offer childcare training. There, students are taught everything from child brain development and first aid to evasive driving techniques.

"The nannies are taught everything from defensive driving to security issues to how to care for a future king or queen," royal commentator Victoria Murphy told ABC News of the distinguished academy in May 2015. "So [Borrallo] just really knows everything that you could possibly need to know about bringing up a child."

She has a unique set of skills

The royal caretaker learned various useful skills during her time at Norland College — how to dodge paparazzi, drive in extreme weather and, most surprisingly, Taekwondo. The latter skill comes in handy for potentially dangerous situations.

According to Daily Mail, Taekwondo is "the martial art of choice" at Norland, and the training is "specially adapted to include how to dodge a potential kidnapped with a pram." In addition, nannies are taken to Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire to “perfect their driving skills” and learn to "drive at high speed in any weather condition."

She joined Kate Middleton and Prince William’s royal family in 2014

Borrallo made her first public appearance after becoming a royal nanny when she joined Prince William and Kate during their 2014 tour of New Zealand and Australia. Prince George was just 8 months old at the time, and Nanny Maria was on-hand to care for him while the couple took on their royal duties.

Since then, Borrallo has continued to join the family on their travels, whether Kate and William are spending a weekend at their country home of Anmer Hall or heading on a royal tour with their children in tow.

She teaches the children Spanish

In May 2017, The Telegraph reported that Prince George had learned how to count in Spanish from Borrallo. 

"Her son George can count up to 10 in Spanish already," a young Spanish-speaking girl named Sayanna, who spoke with the Princess of Wales, told the outlet.

As PEOPLE previously reported in January 2018, Borrallo has also given Princess Charlotte Spanish lessons. 

"She's very sweet and very confident — she's always chatting away," a source said of the toddler at the time.

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She's appeared at numerous royal events

Borrallo can often be spotted at royal events such as Trooping the Colour, where she might be seen peeking out the Buckingham Palace window with the children, or royal weddings, where she helps keep the young bridesmaids and page boys on their best royal behavior.

Perhaps her most recognized appearance came at Princess Charlotte's christening in 2015. Nanny Maria appeared alongside Prince William, Kate, Prince George and Queen Elizabeth to celebrate the family's new addition. She was sporting her Norland College uniform — a brown dress with a bowler hat — and drew comparisons to the world's most famous fictional nanny, Mary Poppins.

According to the college's website, founder Emily Ward — who established the school in 1892 — introduced the uniform so that Norland Nurses (as the graduates were originally known) would be recognized as professionals and "not mistaken for housemaids."

She has a natural-born talent for caring for children

"Maria loves the children dearly," a source previously told PEOPLE in July 2018. "She can be firm and strict, but she is very loving and soft with them too."

Above all, Borrallo possesses the key skill of a modern royal nanny: The ability to always be present when needed but never overstep.

"In the past, royal nannies were employed almost entirely on the basis of referrals from the extended royal family and British aristocracy," Raising Royalty author Carolyn Harris said.

She added, "Today, royal nannies need to strike a delicate balance between providing care and emotional support for their charge while not being seen to interfere with the decision-making of royal parents."

She doesn’t run Kate Middleton and Prince William's household

Royal parents historically often relied on nannies while they carried out their public duties — when then-Prince Charles and Princess Anne were young, they were only able to see their monarch mother at two appointed "meetings" each day. Even when Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were born in the 1960s, it was a "nanny-dominated world," Royal Children biographer Ingrid Seward previously told PEOPLE in August 2019.

However, Princess Diana made sure to take a hands-on approach with her boys, even bringing a nearly 1-year-old William on tour, a first for a royal baby.

Kate and William have followed Diana's lead. They try to maintain privacy and normality for their children, including ordinary trips to the supermarket or snacking from the trunk of the car while William plays polo.

The Prince of Wales is "very much the modern dad," according to Seward. He makes sure to practice "active listening" by squatting down to his children's eye level when speaking with them — a move that inspired actress Anne Hathaway to do the same.

Meanwhile, Kate "runs things at home with the kids and the schedules," a friend told PEOPLE. "She is hugely involved in every single part of their day."

She's a stand-in photographer for the children

In addition to being skilled in the martial arts and an expert behind the wheel, Borrallo has proven herself quite the shutterbug for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The caretaker had a steady hand while taking pictures of the three children behind the scenes at Trooping the Colour in June 2023. Borrallo stood nearby, phone in tow, to photograph the kids inside Buckingham Palace just as Kate leaned down to speak to her little ones ahead of King Charles' birthday parade.