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Radio Caroline mistakenly announced the death of King Charles

Radio Caroline mistakenly announced the death of King Charles

Katerina Melnychenko Deputy Editor-in-Chief

21 May 2026, 13:15

The British radio station Radio Caroline has apologised following a false report of King Charles’s death.

The British radio station Radio Caroline mistakenly announced the death of King Charles on air.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon due to a technical glitch in the computer system at the station’s main studio in Essex.

Radio Caroline’s director, Peter Moore, said on Facebook that an error had accidentally triggered the emergency procedure designed for the event of the monarch’s death.

According to him, British radio stations keep such protocols on standby, although they expect never to use them.

How the station discovered the error

After the procedure was activated, the radio went silent, as required by the relevant protocol.

This allowed the error to be identified, broadcasting to be resumed, and an apology to be aired.

In a statement, Peter Moore emphasised that the station regretted the incident and apologised to the King and listeners for any emotional distress caused.

How long did the error last

The exact duration for which the erroneous message remained on air has not been specified.

However, the recording of the broadcast from 13:58 to 17:00 on Tuesday was temporarily unavailable on the Radio Caroline website.

Where was King Charles

The incident occurred whilst King Charles and Queen Camilla were in Northern Ireland.

There, they attended a series of public events, including musical performances and dance shows in Belfast.

What is known about Radio Caroline

Radio Caroline was founded in 1964.

It is a former pirate radio station that previously operated from ships off the coast of England.

Following legislative changes in 1967, the station gradually ceased its offshore broadcasting.

Radio Caroline ceased such broadcasts entirely in 1990.

BBC blunder on the same day

It is also noted that on the same day, the BBC apologised for a mistake on air.

Listeners to one of the programmes received a repeat of the previous episode due to a scheduling glitch.

As reported by ThePublic, King Charles declared his unwavering support for Ukraine

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