After Russian media reported that King Charles III had passed away, the British embassy in Moscow released a formal declaration confirming his existence.
Multiple unverified Russian news outlets and social media accounts said that the King had died at the age of 75 from problems related to cancer. While neither the royal family’s website nor the British media reported the King’s death, a false statement purporting to have come from Buckingham Palace spread over social media.
Posting on X, the British embassy in Moscow denied the stories’ veracity. The British Embassy in Kyiv later issued a statement denying the reports of the King’s demise. The story reeks of Russian diversion tactics because the announcement came after Western nations, including the United Kingdom, accused Vladimir Putin of winning a rigged presidential election.
The British embassy’s Russian-language Telegram channel published a message to clarify that the claims were false. Pro-Putin media sites Mash, Readkovka, Sputnik, and RIA were among the first to broadcast the false story, but they all eventually retracted it.
One fake news story by Mash said that the British royal family announced the death of King Charles III. It went on to say that just over a year ago, on May 6, 2023, the son of Elizabeth II became the monarch at 75.
The pro-Kremlin BAZA online media tweeted that the Russian media reported the death of British King Charles III regarding a document allegedly published by Buckingham Palace. The screenshot of the notification announcing Charles III’s death was phony.
The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti corrected its previous article, acknowledging that it was derived from “rumors.”
After pictures of the King alive and well were released by the Royals, the official Kremlin daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta, produced by Putin’s administration, stated that King Charles III continues to carry out work and private affairs.