The British Embassy in Ukraine and the Buckingham Palace were forced to announce that King Charles was very much alive after Russian media reported he had died. According to The Guardian, the rumour went viral online after it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, one of Russia's most respected newspapers. There was a photo of King Charles in ceremonial military uniform with the caption "British King Charles III has died". The news went viral on Russian social media sites in no time, causing confusion and alarm before being quickly debunked.
Initially, Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel, posted a document next to a photograph of King Charles. "The following announcement is made by royal communications," it claimed. "The king passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon," the document, dated 18th March 2024, stated, as per The Guardian.
However, after a flurry of bogus stories from Russian media, the British Embassy in Ukraine issued a statement, stating that King Charles is alive. The embassy wrote in English and Ukrainian: "News about King Charles III death is fake".
Separately, the Buckingham Palace also dismissed the report. In a statement to the Russian state-run TASS news agency, the Palace said, "We are happy to confirm that The King is continuing with official and private business".
Notably, a host of Russian mainstream news outlets and popular pro-Kremlin Telegram channels falsely claimed King Charles was dead. However, they later issued corrections to their stories.
The rumour about King Charles' death comes amid a time when the 75-year-old British monarch has been undergoing treatment for cancer. It also comes as Prince William's wife Kate Middleton continues to fuel speculation about her health following abdominal surgery in January.
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It all started after furore over the Palace officially releasing edited photos of Kate. They later issued a kill order for the image after several news agencies claimed that the image was morphed. Kate Middleton has not been seen in the public eye since an abdominal surgery for a non-cancerous but unspecified condition on January 16.
Other than a couple of blurry pictures, she has not been seen since, and in recent weeks social media has been awash with speculation about her health, generating global headlines and rumours.
