King Charles III was mistakenly announced on a UK radio station on Tuesday in a shocking on-air incident that left listeners stunned before the station went silent.
Radio Caroline, which broadcasts in parts of England, mistakenly launched its “Death of a Monarch” legal process due to what station managers later described as a “computer error.”
Regular programs came to an abrupt halt before the presenters announced that regular broadcasts had been suspended following the “death” of the 77-year-old king.
“This is Radio Caroline. We have suspended our regular programs until we are re-introduced as a mark of respect following the passing of King Charles III,” said the radio station, according to The Telegraph. “This is Radio Caroline. King Charles III has passed away. As a mark of respect, we will play continuous, appropriate music until further notice.”
“God Save the King” then played on the air before the station went silent for about 15 minutes.
Station manager Peter Moore later apologized and blamed the error on a computer error.
“Due to a computer error in our main studio, the Death of a Monarch process, which all UK stations are on standby while hoping they won’t need it, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (May 19), mistakenly announcing that HM the King had died,” Moore wrote in a Facebook statement.
“Radio Caroline then introduced it as it would be necessary, which made us aware to return the programs and apologize to the air.”
“We apologize to HM King and our listeners for any distress caused,” he added.
This on-air announcement caused confusion among some listeners, who later took to social media to explain their reaction.
“I ran into the house yelling at my missus ‘She’s dead! She looked confused,” wrote one listener after the mix-up.
“I heard this on my car stereo as I was leaving work and I had to ask myself if it was true or just a sick joke,” said one listener.
“I was shocked, but I accept these possible mistakes and I was happy to find out that it was not true,” added a third.
The station did not say how long the false report lasted before staff realized what had happened.
An archived broadcast from Tuesday afternoon also appeared to be unavailable on the station’s website on Wednesday.
British broadcasters are required to keep detailed procedures in place for the death of a monarch, including pre-arranged announcements and program changes.
The awkward encounter came when Charles and Queen Camilla were holding public talks in Northern Ireland.
The royal couple spent part of the day in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, where they watched folk dancers, met local performers and sampled Irish whiskey during the tour.
Charles and Camilla also recently returned from a four-day trip to the US, where they met with President Trump at the White House.
While in New York City, Charles and Camilla paid their respects at the 9/11 Memorial, visited Harlem Grown for an event with local children focused on urban farming and closed the trip with a business reception at Rockefeller Center.
The king has faced repeated online death rumors since revealing in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer following a prostate enlargement procedure.
Buckingham Palace was previously forced to shut down a false report in March 2024 after Russian media outlets spread allegations that Charles had died.
“We are pleased to confirm that Silo continues as a legitimate and independent business,” the palace said in a statement sent to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency at the time.
