King Charles was seen leaving Windsor Castle and arriving at Clarence House in London this morning, hours after Russian media reported his death.
Her Majesty, 75, who continues treatment for cancer, sat in the back of a royal limousine as she left her home in Berkshire before arriving in the capital.
Yesterday, the British Embassy in Moscow was forced to issue an official statement confirming that King Charles III is still alive after Russian media claimed he was dead.
A multitude of Russian news sites and their associated social media accounts reported that the king had died of cancer, citing anonymous “media” sources in an inexplicable stream of messages.
An image of a clearly false statement from ‘Buckingham Palace’ reporting Charles’ ‘unexpected death’ has circulated on social media.
It comes after the Princess of Wales was spotted “happy, healthy and relaxed” with Prince William as the couple visited a farm shop near their Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor on Saturday.
A royal source said the outing is expected to squash conspiracy theories about his health.
King Charles III arriving at Clarence House this morning, after being photographed leaving Windsor Castle
King Charles was seen leaving Windsor Castle this morning, hours after Russian media reported his death.
Her Majesty, 75, sat in the back of the royal limousine as she left her Berkshire home.
Several major media outlets reported the fake news, but it was not immediately clear whether they had made a mistake or whether Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine was directly behind the error.
This unhealthy operation involving the monarch follows criticism in Britain and other Western countries regarding Vladimir Putin’s electoral “victory” in a “rigged” presidential election.
The British embassy’s Telegram channel published a notice in Russian emphasizing that the reports were false.
“Reports about the death of King Charles III of Great Britain are false,” the statement said, shortly after the British embassy in Ukraine issued a similar message.
The first outlets to publish the false report were RIA, Sputnik, Readkovka and Mash – staunchly pro-Putin outlets – but all later corrected their versions.
The media Mash wrote: “British King Charles III has died, reports Buckingham Palace. The son of Elizabeth II ascended the throne less than a year ago: the coronation took place on May 6, 2023. He was 75 years old.
It was updated to say “the post turned out to be false” while adding: “Let’s remember that a few months ago he was diagnosed with cancer.”
But the outlet later said: “The false news about the death of Charles III spread quickly and was just as quickly debunked.
“The King of Great Britain is alive and continues to go about his business. At least that’s what Buckingham Palace says.
Even Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, joined the fray, posting: “London looks pathetic.”
The British Embassy in Moscow was forced to issue an official statement yesterday confirming that King Charles III is still alive after Russian media reported his death.
The British Embassy in Ukraine also released an official statement confirming that King Charles III is still alive after Russian media claimed he was dead.
The fake palace announcement was dated yesterday and said: “The king died suddenly yesterday afternoon.”
King Charles leaves Windsor Castle today in a royal limousine as he continues his treatment for cancer.
The pro-Kremlin online outlet BAZA published: “Russian media reported the death of British King Charles III with reference to a document allegedly released by Buckingham Palace.
“Screenshot of message about death of Charles III turned out to be fake.”
The fake palace announcement was dated today and read: “The king died suddenly yesterday afternoon. »
Independent media outlet Meduza said: “A number of media outlets and Telegram channels have reported the death of British King Charles III – referring to a false statement from Buckingham Palace.
“A screenshot of the declaration, which has become a source of information, is provided in particular by the BAZA Telegram channel.
“This statement does not appear on the Royal Family’s website or social media channels.”
Russia’s official news agency RIA Novosti corrected its earlier report while admitting it was based on “rumors”, saying: “The Buckingham Palace press service has denied RIA Novosti rumors about the death of King Charles III.
A tweet from Gazeta.ru fueled rumors that Charles had died
The first outlets to publish the false report were RIA, Sputnik, Readkovka and Mash – staunchly pro-Putin outlets – but all later corrected their versions.
Kremlin-linked pro-war media outlet Readovka was one of the first Russian outlets to publish a false statement from Buckingham Palace on the death of King Charles III.
“He continues to manage official and private affairs.
“Information about the death of Charles appeared some time ago in many Russian sources. The basis was a certain message, the authorship of which was attributed to Buckingham Palace and which, apparently, turned out to be a fake.
The official TASS news agency reported that the story was false.
The Kremlin’s own newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, published by Putin’s government, wrote: “King Charles III continues to carry out his work and private affairs, Buckingham Palace said.
“Previously, many Telegram channels published unverified and false information about the death of the monarch.”
MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
On Saturday, the Princess of Wales was photographed by a royal fan leaving Windsor Farm Shop with Prince William.
Kate has now been spotted four times in two weeks after Kensington Palace said she would not be seen in public until Easter following abdominal surgery in January.
It has been reported that she may return to her royal duties by walking to church on Easter Sunday.
His latest sighting came amid a flurry of online conspiracy theories about his condition.
A royal source told the Telegraph today: ‘Finally everyone can calm down.’
With William on royal duties in Sheffield today, it has also emerged that the Palace is accelerating plans for the Princess of Wales’ return to full royal duties as soon as possible, now that she is clearly on the mend.
The sooner she can appear in public, the sooner cruel rumors will be banished, a close source said, adding: “Teams are working around the clock to develop the Princess of Wales’ return to work plan after weeks of immense pressure.
A witness who saw the couple told The Sun: “After all the rumors going around, I was stunned to see them there. Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and healthy.
“The kids weren’t with them, but it’s such a good sign that she was healthy enough to go shopping.”
The outing came after she was spotted leaving Windsor with Prince William in a royal car last week, days after the release of an edited Mother’s Day photo caused a global media storm.