Shock and panic as UK Radio Station announces death of King Charles

A British radio station has been forced to issue an apology after mistakenly broadcasting that King Charles III had died before abruptly going off air.

Radio Caroline accidentally triggered its “Death of a Monarch” protocol on Tuesday afternoon, leading listeners to believe the King had died.

The station, which broadcasts across parts of southern and central England, reportedly interrupted normal programming before playing God Save the King and announcing that regular broadcasts had been suspended.

Listeners said the station then fell silent for around 15 minutes, prompting confusion and panic among some members of the public.

In a statement issued afterwards, station manager Peter Moore blamed the incident on a technical malfunction.

He said: “Due to a computer error at our main studio the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), mistakenly announcing that HRH the King had passed away.

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

The station added that it apologised to both the King and its listeners “for any distress caused”.

The incident prompted a mixture of shock and amusement online, with several listeners admitting they initially believed the announcement to be genuine.

One person wrote that they had immediately informed family members and neighbours before realising it was a mistake, while another joked that after failing to find confirmation on news websites they concluded they should “lay off the sauce for a while”.

The error came as the 77-year-old monarch was carrying out engagements in Northern Ireland alongside Queen Camilla during their first visit to the region this year.

The royal couple had arrived in Belfast on Tuesday after attending the Royal Chelsea Flower Show the previous day.

Founded in 1964 by Ronan O’Rahilly and Allan Crawford, Radio Caroline became famous as one of Britain’s best-known pirate radio stations, broadcasting offshore to compete with the BBC.