Prince Louis Arthur Charles' nanny is martial arts expert and 'extreme driver'

María Teresa Turrión Borrallo comes from the province of Palencia, in Castilla y León, and is the first non-British nanny to care for Royal children.

She will have her work cut out, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have decided not to take on any extra staff now they have a third child – after George, who will be five in July, and Charlotte, three.

But Teresa Turrión will take all this in her stride, as she has been specially trained to care for the children of high-profile, wealthy parents.

Taking over after Prince Harry and Prince William's own nanny, Jessie Webb, retired, Sra Turrión has been living and working in the UK for nearly 20 years and trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, North Somerset, which was founded in 1892 and is known for its extremely rigorous teaching.

Over the three-year course aimed at training nannies of blue-chip clients, students learn self-defence to at least black-belt level – Sra Turrión Borrallo is an expert in Tae Kwondo – and how to drive at exceptionally high speed and in extreme conditions.

These are just two of the various techniques Norland's nannies have been taught to use to protect their children from terrorists, stalkers and the paparazzi.

Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte will all be able to speak Spanish by adulthood – the elder two are already learning the basics, according to People magazine.

Norland's nannies have recently updated their uniform, which they are required to 'wear with pride' and 'always following dress codes' imposed by the college.

The Edwardian-style beige gown, brown hat and white gloves did not change between 1892 and 2013, and attracted criticism when María Teresa wore it for Princess Charlotte's christening for being 'old-fashioned', but she now wears a suit like all other students and graduates from Norland College.

Town & Country magazine has described María Teresa as a 'real-life Mary Poppins', although Sydney Morning Herald reporter Jenna Clarke was far less flattering – she described the Royal nanny as 'a working-class Mary Poppins, like a white coffee bought in a service station bar'.

Photograph: Twitter