The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the Essex-based station Radio Caroline, according to reporting by The Guardian. An automated protocol intended for use only in the event of a monarch’s death was triggered in error, leading to the false announcement being aired.
Station manager Peter Moore explained in a public statement that a computer malfunction activated the “Death of a Monarch” procedure without authorisation. The system, which stations keep on standby for official announcements, caused regular programming to stop and a premature notice of the monarch’s death to be broadcast.
Following the alert, the station went silent in line with its emergency process before staff identified the mistake and restored normal programming. An on-air apology was later issued to listeners.
Moore said the station regretted the incident and offered an apology to King Charles III and the public, noting that the error was unintentional and linked to system automation rather than editorial action.
Details on how long the incorrect message remained on air were not provided. However, playback from the affected time window was reportedly unavailable on the station’s website shortly after the incident.
The error occurred while King Charles and Queen Camilla were carrying out engagements in Northern Ireland, including a visit to Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.
Founded in 1964 as a pirate broadcaster operating offshore, Radio Caroline later transitioned to land-based transmissions after changes in UK broadcasting law.
Separately, BBC issued an apology this week over an unrelated scheduling error that led to a repeat episode being aired on a programme hosted by Elaine Paige. The broadcaster said the mistake was due to a programming mix-up and confirmed the correct episode had since been made available on BBC Sounds.
