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A British radio station has apologised for “any distress caused” after accidentally announcing that King Charles III had died due to a computer error.
The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon at Radio Caroline’s main studio in Essex, station manager Peter Moore said on Facebook.
“Due to a computer error at our main studio, the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), mistakenly announcing that HM the King had passed away,” Moore wrote.
“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology.”
Moore said the station had been “pleased to broadcast Her Majesty the Queen’s, and now the king’s, Christmas message and we hope to do so for many years to come.”
“We apologise to HM the king and to our listeners for any distress caused,” he added.
The post did not say how long passed before the mistake was discovered, but playback for Tuesday’s broadcast between 1:58 pm and 5 pm was unavailable on the station’s website on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident came as the king and queen were in Northern Ireland, where they joined a folk group for a performance.
