Radio Caroline has apologised after mistakenly announcing the death of King Charles III due to what it described as a computer error at its main studio.
In a statement shared on social media, station manager Peter Moore said the technical glitch accidentally triggered the station’s monarch death protocol, a procedure maintained by UK broadcasters for emergency use.
“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,” Moore stated.
He added that the station deeply regretted the incident.
“We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused.”
The incident reportedly happened on the first day of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit to Northern Ireland, where the royal couple attended cultural events in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, including performances by folk dancers and whiskey tasting activities.
Although Radio Caroline did not reveal exactly when the mistake was identified, the Press Association reported that archived playback of the station’s May 19 broadcast between 1:58 pm and 5:00 pm was unavailable online as of the afternoon of May 20.
Radio Caroline was founded in 1964 and became famous as one of Britain’s best-known pirate radio stations, broadcasting from ships positioned off the English coast.
Despite legislation introduced in 1967 that forced many pirate broadcasters off air, the station continued intermittent operations before finally ending its offshore broadcasts in 1990.
