Radio Caroline Apologizes for False King Charles Death Report, Going Silent for Nearly 3 Hours
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 21
Radio Caroline Apologizes for False King Charles Death Report, Going Silent for Nearly 3 Hours
6 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 21
Radio Caroline said a computer error on May 19 accidentally triggered the UK's "Death of a Monarch" procedure, leading it to falsely announce King Charles III had died.
The station then went off air under royal-death protocol until the silence itself alerted staff, who restored programming and issued an on-air apology.
Manager Peter Moore apologized to the king and listeners for the distress caused; archived playback from 1:58 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time was unavailable on the station's website.
The blunder came as Charles and Queen Camilla were traveling to Belfast for a three-day visit, underscoring that the monarch was alive during the mistaken broadcast.
Did Radio Caroline’s infamous error expose a critical flaw in the UK’s national protocol for announcing a monarch’s death?
A computer glitch announced a king's death. Are automated media systems dangerously vulnerable to error or even deliberate cyberattack?