United Kingdom Releases Statement After Faux Buckingham Palace Letterhead Proclaims King Charles 'Passed Away Unexpectedly'
British authorities reacted quickly Monday with a statement to counter the false news that King Charles had died.
According to reports, Russian news outlets began posting stories Monday morning that the British monarch had died on Sunday afternoon, the U.K. Telegraph reported.
Some of the Russian outlets even used an image of what appeared to be official Royal Communications notepaper featuring the royal crest with a message stating, “The King passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.”
The Russian media outlets further stated that Charles had died from “cancer complications,” the U.K.’s Daily Star reported.
Of course, it is true that King Charles was diagnosed with cancer in January at the age of 75.
Despite that diagnosis, though, British authorities assured the world this week that Charles had not yet died — cancer diagnosis or no.
The word was quickly sent out by the British embassy in Ukraine that the reports of the king’s demise were false.
“We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake,” the embassy wrote on X.
🇬🇧 We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake. pic.twitter.com/Ilg2GZn0mo
— UK in Ukraine 🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@UKinUkraine) March 18, 2024
Sputnik, Readkovka, and Mash were among the Russian news outlets that fell for the hoax report, according to the Daily Star.
Sputnik, for instance went live with a report saying, “King Charles III of Great Britain has died at the age of 75, according to media reports. There is no information about this on the Royal family website or in the British media.”
Pro-Putin news source Mash reported, “Britain’s King Charles III has died, Buckingham Palace reports.” But not long after posting the fake news, the outlet updated its report to read, “The message turned out to be fake.”
Buckingham Palace also responded to the fake news, telling Tass, the Russian news agency, “We are pleased to confirm that the King continues to fulfill his work duties and attend to private affairs,” The Telegraph reported.
The fake news exploded across Russian media in the wake of an earlier hoax on social media that claimed the British royal family was going to make a shocking announcement, with the social media hash tag “#royalannouncement” trending on X over the weekend.
After his diagnosis, Prince Harry rushed back to London to be with his father during the monarch’s treatment.
King Charles reportedly called Harry to inform him about the cancer diagnosis before the news was made public.
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