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By Tom Norton
Fact Check Reporter
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King Charles III has been the subject of swirling rumor since the British monarch was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement in February that following a hospital procedure for prostate enlargement, doctors discovered a form of cancer, although the type was not revealed.
With few other details available, a baseless rumor took strength online this week, spurred by Russian social media accounts, that Charles had died.
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The Claim
Multiple posts on X, formerly Twitter claimed that King Charles III had died.
A post by user @Goddie_Ke, on March 18, 2024, stated: "BREAKING NEWS
"British King Charles III is no more. Cancer, royal announcement."
User @CaptCoron added in a post viewed 295,000 times: "🚨🚨🚨Update: British King Charles III has died of cancer at age 75!! 🔥🔥🔥"
Another post by user @PillboXXe, viewed 379,000 times said "🚨🚨 BREAKING: KING CHARLES DEAD AT 75. BUCKINGHAM PALACE CONFIRMS. 🚨🚨
GREAT BRITAIN MOURNS DEATH OF MONARCH. WILLIAM TO BECOME KING."
The Facts
King Charles III is not dead. The rumor was squashed in a statement issued by the British Embassy of Ukraine on Monday.
The embassy wrote in English and Ukrainian: "News about King Charles III death is fake."
Speculation about the King's death followed an equally baseless rumor spread online over the weekend that Buckingham Palace was preparing to release an "extremely important royal announcement."
Some suggested the rumor had been passed through a team at the BBC but with no explanation about the announcement or why the BBC was being told to prepare. Newsweek has contacted the BBC for comment.
Despite the absence of evidence, rumors stirred that there would be news about King Charles's health. While some of these claims were presented with a tongue-in-cheek seriousness, at around 07:55 ET on Monday, multiple Russian social media channels began reporting the claim as fact.
One post by Russian news aggregator @truexanewsua wrote on Telegram, viewed more than 660,000 times said "King Charles III of Britain died at the age of 75 , - British media."
While some of these Russian news accounts have updated their posts, labeling the story as false, others have left their original updates unedited.
Newsweek has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
The Royal Family has the been subject of wild speculation over the past month, particularly over the whereabouts of Kate Middleton, who has barely been seen since Christmas
Kensington Palace released a photo last week to mark Mother's Day of Kate with Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Prince George, a seeming attempt to end the questions about her absence. However, the photo was "killed" by press agencies, with clear signs that the picture had been manipulated. A statement was later released on Kate's behalf saying she herself had edited the photo.
The Ruling
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False.
King Charles III is not dead. The U.K. Embassy in Ukraine dismissed the rumor on Monday.
Speculation about the king's death sprang from another baseless claim about an "extremely important Royal announcement."
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
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