Palace footman awaits visa decision

A Buckingham Palace footman who helped announce the birth of Prince George is waiting to learn if his visa will be renewed, according to reports.

Badar Azim, a 25-year-old hospitality management graduate who grew up in a Calcutta slum, played a starring role in telling the world about the new royal baby.

Pictures of Mr Azim helping Ailsa Anderson, the Queen's press secretary, place the official notice on an ornate easel were used in publications across the globe.

But the palace footman, who has been working in the Queen's royal household since last year, is trying to renew his visa which expires in October, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Mr Azim was able to graduate from Napier University, Edinburgh in June 2011 thanks to financial help from St Mary's Orphanage and Day school in Calcutta, where he studied as a boy.

The footman's father, Mohammed Rahim, a 52-year-old welder, and his 41-year-old mother Mumtaz Begum, still live in the same Calcutta home.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment and a Home Office spokesman said they did not comment on individual cases.

But speaking generally, the spokesman said: "Each application is looked at and judged on its own merits."