Reason King Charles' death report aired live on the radio - as monarch is alive and well
Reason King Charles' death report aired live on the radio - as monarch is alive and well
Ayeesha WalshTue, August 11, 2026 at 11:26 PM UTC
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Radio Caroline accidentally claimed that King Charles III was dead -Credit:Getty Images
A UK radio station has been found to have breached broadcast standards after it mistakenly aired reports claiming King Charles had died.
Radio Caroline broadcast three pre-recorded statements announcing the death of the 77-year-old monarch during The Barry Marsh Show on May 19, interrupting its usual music programming. The UK-based station's error prompted two complaints to media regulator OFCOM after listeners heard the reports, which were followed by the national anthem and around 16 minutes of silence.
In the third statement, listeners were told that "news media" had confirmed King Charles had died. One of the statements was then played again before normal programming eventually resumed. Around 30 minutes after the reports were broadcast, the show host apologized and confirmed the news was not true. It comes as a TV star was left mortified after they accidentally spilled food on King Charles' face during a visit to his Highgrove residence.
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He said, “I’ve just been informed that we’ve played in error some information a little earlier, I didn’t hear this myself, but it is incorrect, it’s a technical issue, and of course we apologize.” OFCOM ruled that the incident breached two rules under the Broadcasting Code in its Monday, August 10 bulletin.
The first code states, “News, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality.” Meanwhile, the second code reads, “Significant mistakes in news should normally be acknowledged and corrected on air quickly. Corrections should be appropriately scheduled.”
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The false report left listeners believing the monarch had died -Credit:Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Radio Caroline, which primarily plays music from the 1960s to the present day, explained to OFCOM that the show was being broadcast from a remote location when the incident happened.nAt the station's studio, a staff member was carrying out maintenance on a computer when they discovered three files that had been prepared in case of King Charles' death.
The files were not supposed to be played without following strict procedures. According to the OFCOM bulletin, Radio Caroline “explained that these files are accompanied with ‘a set of strict instructions to presenters and managers’ to follow before being aired, but, out of curiosity, the member of staff played the files, which stopped the stream from the presenter’s remote location, and broadcast the files on air.”
Radio Caroline had been preparing news reports for any incident involving the King -Credit:Getty Images
After realizing what had happened, the staff member stopped the files and left the office. However, the show's host was on a phone call and did not immediately realize that the pre-recorded death announcements had gone out to listeners.
Once he discovered an incorrect program was being streamed, he contacted a station engineer, who was already aware of the situation and investigating what had happened. The station then switched back to its regular programming.
The King is of course very much alive -Credit:Chris Watt/The King's Foundation/PA Wire
Radio Caroline told OFCOM it “took the matter very seriously, and much activity was taking place during those 30 minutes leading up to the apology” and that its staff acted “as soon as they could.” The station told OFCOM that the employee responsible for playing the files was subsequently “reprimanded” and has since “apologized.”
Radio Caroline also said the files have now been moved to an external hard drive, while presenters and other staff were “reminded of the relevant procedures.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
