A UK radio station has apologized to Britain’s King Charles III and its listeners after accidentally and incorrectly announcing the death of the monarch.
“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,” the station supervisor for Radio Caroline, Peter Moore, mentioned in a press release shared on social media Wednesday.
“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology,” he continued.
“Caroline has 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,” Moore added.
“We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused,” the assertion concluded.
Established in 1964, Radio Caroline broadcasts in a number of international locations, together with Belgium and the Netherlands, and is accessible on-line worldwide.
On the day of the misguided announcement, King Charles and Queen Camilla have been in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The 77-year-old and his spouse joined a cultural celebration at Thompson Dock, the dry floor the place the Titanic stood earlier than its maiden voyage, Buckingham Palace mentioned in a press release Tuesday.
There, they met performers and organizers getting ready for the globally acknowledged conventional Irish music competition Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, happening in August.
The royals additionally visited Titanic distillers and realized about whisky making, earlier than the King visited an area charity offering and selling wider entry to abilities for digital careers, in response to the palace.
The King and Queen later met with the primary minister and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland at Hillsborough Castle, a royal residence close to Belfast.
King Charles, who revealed in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, shared in a video message in December that his cancer treatment would be reduced this year, as he had been responding properly to therapy.
In the previous month, he has visited New York and Washington, DC, the place he addressed Congress, to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence. The King additionally addressed the UK Parliament final week.