Buckingham Palace was forced to deny reports that King Charles III died on Monday after Russian media propagated speculative reports originating from a questionable "announcement." Before that, Ukraine's British embassy was also forced to issue an official statement that King Charles is still alive following the dubious reports.
Several Russian news websites and their affiliated social media channels reported earlier on Monday that the King had died at the age of 75 due to complications from cancer, citing unnamed 'media' sources in a series of inexplicable posts. Social media users were initially shocked after coming across the piece of news and scrambled to find the truth behind the weird reports.
Misleading News of King's Death
The announcement came as an image containing a clearly fake statement attributed to "Buckingham Palace" announcing the "unexpected death" of Charles, which immediately went viral on social media.
"King Charles III of Great Britain has died at the age of 75, according to media reports," Russian newswire Sputnik reported.
"There is no information about this on the royal family website or in the British media."
The image also carried a seal of the British monarch's official London residence.
Minutes later, their stories were revised after they were compelled to retract them upon receiving reports confirming that the King was indeed alive.
The British Embassy in Kyiv quickly shared an abrupt notice on social media stating: "We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake."
Later, the palace released a statement to the Russian state-run TASS news agency refuting the report.
Several prominent outlets reported the fake news, raising questions about whether they had made an error or if Vladimir Putin's propaganda machine was directly involved.
Strange Timing
This deceitful maneuver involving the monarch came amid criticism in Britain and other Western nations of Vladimir Putin's disputed "victory" in a presidential election deemed as "rigged."
The British embassy's Telegram channel posted a notice in Russian to stress that the reports were indeed fake.
"Reports about the death of King Charles III of Great Britain are fake," said the announcement, echoing a similar message shortly after issued by the British Embassy in Ukraine.
The first outlets to report the bogus report included RIA, Sputnik, Readkovka, and Mash, all of which are staunchly pro-Putin outlets. However, they later corrected their stories.
Mash media outlet reported: "Britain's King Charles III has died, Buckingham Palace reports. The son of Elizabeth II ascended the throne less than a year ago - the coronation took place on May 6, 2023. He was 75 years old."
It later updated to say "the message turned out to be fake" adding: "Let us remember that a few months ago he was diagnosed with cancer."
The 75-year-old British king has been receiving treatment for cancer since late January.
