Radio Station Mistakenly Announces King Charles' Death and the Timing Makes It Worse
A UK radio station issued an on-air and written apology after declaring the King dead and leaving listeners in shock.
King Charles III is on a three-day surprise visit to Northern Ireland along with Queen Camilla. While he is busy performing his royal duties back home, royal fans, experts, and watchdogs were left rattled after a radio station abruptly announced the monarch's death. When it comes to a glitch announcing someone's demise, the code outlines the protocol for King Charles's death, including immediate notifications to British officials, Commonwealth nations, and the public. In a bizarre turn of events, a UK radio station, Radio Caroline, apologized to listeners after erroneously proclaiming the King dead. The incident occurred on May 19th, when regular programming was interrupted, and presenters reported the news, followed by "God Save the King." The station then remained silent for about 15 minutes before issuing an on-air apology.
According to the station's official Facebook page, the issue was labeled as a "computer error" by Station Manager Peter Moore in an official written apology. He added that the Death of a Monarch protocol was mistakenly activated at their main studio on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), resulting in an inaccurate announcement that HRH the King had passed away. Listeners who had gone into a panic mode expressed relief at the clarification. "I heard this on my car stereo yesterday as I was just leaving work, and for a moment I had to ask myself whether it was true or just a sick joke. Thankfully, it was neither, but instead a simple technical error," one of the ardent royal fans commented under the post.
There were plenty of hilarious ones, too, like this one, where the wife of a listener amusingly countered the news. "I heard this while working in our garage. I dashed indoors, shouting to the missus, “He’s dead! Charlie is bloody dead !” She looked puzzled and said, “Well, he was just at the flower show yesterday”. After much perusal of news websites, we concluded that perhaps I should lay off the sauce for a while." "We saw him and the Queen arrive at the George Best Airport in Belfast. Yesterday," another royal observer reacted.
The 77-year-old monarch continues to carry out his duties while receiving treatment for an undisclosed cancer, revealed in early 2024. Despite a hectic schedule, the King has been living to the fullest the past few months.
