King Charles death accidentally announced live on air in huge blunder as staff member 'panicked and fled'

A radio station has been found in breach of broadcasting standards after it mistakenly announced that King Charles had died. 

Essex-based Radio Caroline accidentally broadcast three pre-recorded messages, as well as 16 minutes of silence and the national anthem, on 19 May on The Barry Marsh Show, before apologising for the error.  

One of the messages at the time even said: "We have suspended our normal programmes until further notice as a mark of respect following the passing of His Majesty King Charles III."

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On Monday, Ofcom revealed the radio station had breached two rules by wrongly announcing the death of the King, who is currently enjoying his summer holiday in Scotland with Queen Camilla. 

What did the Ofcom ruling say?

Media regulator Ofcom said the incident breached Rule 5.1, which requires "due accuracy" and Rule 5.2, which requires that significant mistakes be amended quickly. 

The code reads: "News, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality."

In a statement, Ofcom said: "We considered this to have been a very significant inaccuracy about an issue of particular public importance."

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The correction and apology were broadcast 30 minutes later, with Ofcom stating that the staff member who accidentally played the files "panicked and fled the premises".

The on-air presenter could be heard saying: "I’ve just been informed that we’ve played in error some information a little earlier. I didn’t hear this myself, but it is incorrect, it’s a technical issue, and of course we apologise." 

Ofcom added that the files had been played "out of curiosity" when the staff member was performing maintenance and accessed pre-recorded obituary files, intended for use in the event of King Charles's death. 

Why did Radio Caroline accidentally announce the King's death?

Radio Caroline said they were streaming the programme remotely, meaning the presenter was off air, and the announcements were played instead. 

The station director was on a call during the inaccurate broadcast, leading to the delayed realisation and response that something had gone wrong. 

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Radio Caroline later said it had "acted as soon as possible" and that Ofcom only received two complaints. 

The station is run entirely by volunteers, meaning it does not have the same resources as larger broadcasters. 

The staff member in question is said to have been reprimanded, while the files have been moved to a studio desktop instead to prevent a repeat incident. 

HELLO! has reached out to Radio Caroline for further comment.