A false statement announcing the death of the King has been circulated in Russia.
The notice, which was purported to have been released by Buckingham Palace, said: “The King passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.”
It was printed on what appeared to be official headed notepaper featuring the royal crest, and stated that the message, dated Monday March 18, was from Royal Communications.
The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle.
The rumour went into overdrive when it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, once Russia’s most respected business newspaper. There was a photo of Charles in ceremonial military uniform and the curt caption: “British King Charles III has died.” It made it through Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with more than 2.35 million subscribers.
There was no public statement from Buckingham Palace. But Readovka did have a document, provenance unknown, that it posted next to a photograph of the king. “The following announcement is made by royal communications,” it said. “The king passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.” It was dated 18 March 2024. That was all.
The file, whose creator is unknown, was closely modelled on the palace’s announcement of the late queen’s death that said: “The queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.” Another version making the rounds was an abdication letter, admittedly naming Charles’s successor as “King Bob, the yellow Minion”.
But there was growing concern at this point that it might not be true. The Russian website Gazeta.Ru originally tweeted: “King Charles III of Great Britain has died. This is reported by Buckingham Palace. The monarch was 75 years old. He was recently diagnosed with cancer.” But it was later edited to add: “At the same time, nothing has been written about this in the official British media. Most likely, the information is fake.” One top Russian media editor also published the article, writing: “I can’t tell if it’s true or not.” Later, he suggested, the website of Buckingham Palace had probably been “hacked”.
“Photo fact: Buckingham Palace has distributed a fresh photo of King Charles III to dispel rumors about his death,” the channel wrote. “London looks pathetic,” wrote the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, sharing that post.
Ultimately, the newsflash came from the Russian state news agency Tass: “King Charles III continues to perform his official duties and attend private engagements.”
The statement fuelled global speculation about the Royal family, gaining so much traction that the British embassy in Ukraine had to issue a statement refuting the claims.
“We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake,” the embassy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Buckingham Palace was also dragged into the situation, telling Tass, the Russian news agency: “We are pleased to confirm that the King continues to fulfil his work duties and attend to private affairs.”
The false statement was published by Baza and Mash, two popular Russian Telegram channels, before being picked up by Russian media outlets including Gazeta.Ru, a news website based in Moscow.
Sputnik, the Russian news wire, reported: “King Charles III of Great Britain has died at the age of 75, according to media reports. There is no information about this on the Royal family website or in the British media.”
Social media posts that circulated the stories were accompanied by images purporting to show that the Union flag at Buckingham Palace was flying at half-mast.
The Russian news stories were later updated when the rumours were denied. It was unclear where the fake statement had originated, with some claiming that Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine was responsible.
The King, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in January, continues his work behind the scenes, avoiding large public groups on medical advice as he undergoes treatment.
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