British radio station investigated for false report of King Charles III's death

On May 19, 2026, the British radio station Radio Caroline mistakenly broadcasted three prerecorded announcements falsely claiming that King Charles III had died. The error occurred during 'The Barry Marsh Show' at 14:05, when an employee accidentally played sensitive audio files intended for use only in the event of the monarch's actual passing, after browsing them out of curiosity. The broadcast also included the playing of the national anthem and a subsequent 16-minute period of dead air.

Following the broadcast, the presenter apologized about 30 minutes later, clarifying that the king was alive and attributing the incident to a technical error. The British communications regulator, Ofcom, launched an investigation into the matter and released its findings on August 10, 2026. The regulator determined that the station violated accuracy and reporting standards by failing to correct the significant error in a timely manner. The incident drew public attention again this week as the details of the regulator's report became widely known.