A British radio station has been found in breach of broadcasting rules after it mistakenly announced that King Charles III had died, months before the monarch’s actual death. The incident happened on May 19, when Radio Caroline unexpectedly interrupted its regular programming with prerecorded messages declaring the King had passed away.
A Broadcast That Shocked Listeners
Three prerecorded statements were played during The Barry Marsh Show, with one claiming that news organizations had confirmed the King’s death. The announcement was followed by the British national anthem and roughly 16 minutes of silence, making the report appear especially credible to anyone listening at the time.
The presenter was actually broadcasting remotely and did not initially realize what had happened. Regular programming eventually returned, and about 30 minutes after the false announcement, the host apologized and told listeners the information was incorrect.
How the Mistake Happened
According to Ofcom’s findings, a staff member was performing maintenance on a studio computer when they discovered the prerecorded files prepared for the King’s death. The files were accompanied by strict instructions about when they could be used, but the employee reportedly played them “out of curiosity.”
The action interrupted the remote broadcast and sent the prepared messages onto the station’s live stream. Once the employee realized what had happened, they stopped the files and left the office, while the presenter remained unaware that the false announcement had gone out.
Ofcom Says the Station Broke the Rules
In its August 10 bulletin, Ofcom ruled that Radio Caroline breached two provisions of the Broadcasting Code. The rules require news to be reported accurately and require significant mistakes to be corrected promptly and appropriately.
The regulator received two complaints about the broadcast. Radio Caroline told Ofcom that it took the incident seriously, reprimanded the staff member involved and reminded employees and presenters about the station’s procedures. The sensitive files have also reportedly been moved to an external hard drive to reduce the risk of another accidental broadcast.
The incident is an unusual reminder of how quickly a prepared emergency announcement can become a major problem when safeguards fail. For listeners, the combination of a death announcement, the national anthem and an extended silence made the mistake particularly convincing, while the delayed correction ultimately became a separate issue for the UK’s broadcasting regulator. King Charles was alive, and the entire episode was the result of an internal broadcasting error, not an actual royal health event.
