Kate, William ask his former nanny, to care for Prince George

Prince William and Kate have asked his 71-year-old former nanny to help look after baby George, it was reported today.

Jessica Webb is said to be considering the offer of coming out of retirement and being the 20-day-old prince’s first charge.

Young William and Harry were shielded from their parents’ bitter divorce by the nanny who never married or had children of her own.

She reportedly tried to ensure the princes did not witnessed the screaming rows between Prince Charles and Diana – caring for the the boys from the age of seven until William went off to prep school five years later.

After she left Kensington Palace, Ms Webb went on to work for Viscount Linley and his wife Serena looking after their son Charles and daughter Margarita.

But she kept in touch with the princes and was a guest at William’s 21st birthday and attended the royal wedding two years ago.

One royal courtier told the Sunday People: ‘Jessie would be ideal. Everyone likes her. She’s discreet and she’s of an age when she’s not going to have her picture in the paper every five minutes.’

The paper claimed the ‘granny nanny’ is keen to help because William was a favourite of hers, but she is reluctant about doing the job full-time.

Princess Diana chose her to be William’s main nanny overruling Prince Charles who had wanted an old-school royal appointee.

She believed Ms Webb would give the boys values of fairness and compassion and bring fun into her sons’ upbringing, according the paper.

William, 31, reportedly wants to recreate the same feeling of security that Jessica gave him and pass it on to his own son.

Kate, 31, is caring for George full-time but has been advised she will become exhausted by combing motherhood with her future royal duties.

At the moment she is being supported by her mother Carole Middleton while William is back on duty as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot in Angelsey, North Wales.

Royal courtiers have urged them to instal a more formal arrangement for looking after the baby once the summer is over.