A radio station issued an apology statement after mistakenly announcing the death of King Charles III back in May.
Radio Caroline, which broadcasts across the UK, explained that due to a “computer error”, the “Death of a Monarch procedure was accidentally activated” on a Tuesday afternoon in late May.
In a statement, the radio station personally apologised to the king at the time.
Now, fresh reports have emerged stating that the radio station broke Ofcom rules with the ordeal.
Radio Caroline issued an apology after mistakenly announcing the death of King Charles
In May, the radio station issued a statement on their Facebook page.
Peter Moore, the Station Manager, said: “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 HRH the King had passed away.
“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.
“We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused.”
False King Charles death announcement ordeal broke Ofcom rules
The media regulator Ofcom has shared an assessment of the situation.
They said said it had received two complaints about the broadcast.
This scenario meant it had broken rule 5.1, requiring that news is reported accurately and impartially.
They also broke rule 5.2, which requires mistakes in news to be acknowledged and corrected on air quickly.
Ofcom said that once the presenter realised what he had done, he stopped the files and “panicked and left the premises”.
Ofcom’s statement on the matter reads: “We considered this to have been a very significant inaccuracy about an issue of particular public importance.
“As outlined above, Radio Caroline did not broadcast an apology and clarification until approximately 30 minutes after the inaccurate announcements were first broadcast.
“We noted that the Licensee was monitoring the output around the time of the incident and that an engineer was already aware of the issue, but that it took some time to understand what had occurred and reinstate the scheduled programme, with that being exacerbated by the circumstances of the presenter streaming the programme remotely.”
What will happen when King Charles dies?
When King Charles dies, his son Prince William will immediately become monarch.
Like with his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the king’s passing will be announced by the palace and the country will enter a national period of mourning.
He’ll also have a state funeral. This will likely be broadcasted on TV.
The death of King Charles will trigger an official, highly choreographed contingency plan known as “Operation Menai Bridge”.
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