London (TDI): A former British pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, has apologized after mistakenly announcing the death of King Charles III due to a technical error.
The incorrect announcement was broadcast on Tuesday afternoon following what the station described as a computer malfunction at its main studio in Maldon, Essex, according to a statement posted on social media.
Station manager Peter Moore said the error triggered the standard “death of a monarch” protocol, which UK broadcasters keep in place for emergency situations involving the Royal Family.
“As a result, Radio Caroline went silent as required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology,” Moore explained in a Facebook post.
He added that the station “apologizes for any distress caused” to both the monarch and listeners.
Moore also noted that Radio Caroline has historically broadcast royal Christmas messages, including those of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, and hopes to continue doing so in the future.
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The incident occurred while King Charles and Queen Camilla were visiting Northern Ireland, where they attended a cultural performance featuring an Irish folk group.
The station did not specify how long the incorrect announcement remained on air, although reports suggested that playback of the affected broadcast segment was later unavailable on its website.
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Radio Caroline, founded in 1964 to challenge the BBC’s broadcasting monopoly, originally operated as an offshore “pirate radio” station from ships at sea. Following UK legislation in 1967 targeting unlicensed broadcasters, it ceased most offshore operations, later resuming in various forms before finally ending sea-based broadcasts in 1990.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source thediplomaticinsight.com ’
