Radio station apologises after mistakenly announcing King Charles’ death

By Enitan Abdultawab

A UK radio station has issued an apology to King Charles III and its listeners after a technical glitch led to a false on-air announcement declaring that the monarch had died.

King Charles III was incorrectly pronounced dead on Tuesday afternoon following what Radio Caroline described as a system error involving its “Death of a Monarch” emergency protocol.

In a statement, the station manager, Peter Moore, explained how the incident occurred:

“Due to a computer error at our main studio, the death of a monarch was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), mistakenly announcing that HM the King had passed away.”

He added that the error triggered an automatic shutdown of programming, which is part of the station’s protocol for such announcements:

“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology.”

The station emphasised that the announcement was false and expressed regret over the distress it caused:

“We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused.”

Radio Caroline, founded in 1964 and known for broadcasting across Europe and online, confirmed that it continues to support royal broadcasts, including Christmas messages from the monarchy.

At the time of the incident, King Charles and Queen Camilla were in Northern Ireland carrying out official engagements, including cultural visits and meetings with local officials.

Buckingham Palace has not indicated any health emergency, and the King has continued recent public duties following ongoing medical treatment he revealed in 2024.

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