Russian media disseminated information, never released by Buckingham Palace, that the British king had died unexpectedly on Monday afternoon.
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There was no official announcement from Buckingham Palace, not even a health report from King Charles III – who publicly admitted that he had been diagnosed with cancer – but the Russian press decided on Monday to announce the false death of the king of England.
According to The Guardian, it all started when Vedomosti, once one of the most respected Russian newspapers, posted on its Telegram channel a photograph of King Charles in military uniform and a short caption: “British King Charles III has died.” The information quickly spread across Russian channels and was even shared on the pro-Kremlin Readovka channel, which has more than two million subscribers, with a document that appears to imitate the one that announced the death of Elizabeth II. “The king passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon,” it reads.
The Russian website Gazeta.Ru shared the information on Twitter but later edited it to warn that nothing about Charles III’s death had been written by the British press. “The information is probably false.”
The news of the death of the British king, which was never released by any official source, even ended up reaching the Ukrainian media and was shared on the social media of a well-known television station, according to the Guardian, which adds that one of the largest media Tajikistan’s independent media outlet, Asia-Plus, also wrote about the alleged death.
Hours later, Tass, the Russian state news agency, ended up denying all the speculation: “King Charles III continues to carry out his official duties and participate in private engagements”, he announced.
