Radio station mistakenly announces death of King Charles

A British radio station mistakenly announced the death of King Charles and played the anthem "God Save the King."

Radio Caroline, a station broadcasting in the south of England, interrupted the song "What's Up" by the band 4 Non Blondes to falsely announce that King Charles III had died. The announcement was followed by a recording of the hymn "God Save the King," followed by 15 minutes of silence. The presenters reportedly apologized as soon as they returned to the program, British media reported.

Now the station's manager, Peter Moore, has officially apologized via social media.

"Due to a computer error in our main studio, the procedure that is activated in the event of the death of the monarch, which all British radio stations keep ready, hoping they will never have to use it, was accidentally triggered, and it was mistakenly announced that His Majesty the King had passed away," Mure wrote.

"Radio Caroline then went silent, as the rules dictate in such a situation, which alerted us to resume the program and issue a live apology," he added.

"Caroline Radio was pleased to broadcast the Christmas message of Her Majesty the Queen, and now the King, and we hope to do so for many years to come. We apologise to His Majesty the King and our listeners for any distress we have caused," the radio station manager said.

The major national media outlets in the UK do indeed have pre-prepared procedures for the death of a monarch. These are elaborate plans that have been in place for decades and include specific protocols and codes - the death of a monarch traditionally activates pre-defined plans. The famous name used for the death of Queen Elizabeth II was "Operation London Bridge".

The plan also includes pre-written news and speeches - the editorial offices have ready-made texts, biographies, archive footage and special shows that are updated, as well as special playlists with classical music.

Also, television station hosts always have a black wardrobe prepared for emergency situations.

Some radio stations, like Caroline, have automated procedures such as playing the national anthem and special announcements.

Smaller local stations often use standardized or automated systems - which is why mistakes like this one with Radio Caroline sometimes happen, where the system accidentally activated a procedure.