Ofcom has ruled that Radio Caroline breached broadcasting rules after it accidentally aired prerecorded announcements saying King Charles III had died. An employee performing maintenance opened and played three "death of a monarch" messages out of curiosity, overriding a remote broadcast and interrupting The Barry Marsh Show. The false notices led to about 16 minutes of silence and a roughly 30-minute delay before an on-air correction; Ofcom found breaches of accuracy and correction requirements.
Ofcom Rules Radio Caroline Broke Standards After False King Charles Death Notice
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Ofcom has concluded that offshore station Radio Caroline breached U.K. broadcasting rules after it briefly announced that King Charles III had died. The findings, published on 10 August 2024, overturn the station’s initial claim that a "computer error" triggered the false bulletin on 19 May.
According to Ofcom, an employee performing maintenance at the station's main studio opened three prerecorded "death of a monarch" announcements and played them "out of curiosity," unintentionally overriding a remote live stream of The Barry Marsh Show and broadcasting the messages live.
No, King Charles III is Not Dead
The prerecorded notices interrupted the show and included a claim that "news media" had confirmed the 77-year-old monarch's death. The station then played the British national anthem, repeated one of the announcements and remained silent for around 16 minutes before normal output resumed.
Listeners waited roughly 30 minutes for an on-air correction. When programming returned, the remote presenter said:
"I've just been informed that we've played in error some information a little earlier. It is incorrect, it's a technical issue, and of course we apologize."
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Ofcom Findings and Station Response
Ofcom received two complaints about the broadcast and found Radio Caroline in breach of two sections of its Broadcasting Code: the requirement that news be reported with due accuracy and the obligation to acknowledge and correct significant errors promptly. The regulator noted that the three files were accompanied by strict instructions on their use, but the employee opened and played them regardless.
Once the employee realised the files had gone on air, they stopped playback and left the studio. Station management said staff spent about 30 minutes trying to restore the feed and correct the record. Radio Caroline has since removed the death-announcement files from the studio computer, stored them on an external hard drive, and reprimanded the employee, who apologised.
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Context
At the time of Radio Caroline's false bulletin, King Charles and Queen Camilla were publicly attending events in Belfast. Charles, who became king after Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022 and was crowned in May 2023, had revealed a cancer diagnosis in February 2024 and later said his treatment would be reduced after a positive response.
The Ofcom ruling replaces Radio Caroline's earlier explanation that a "computer error" activated the station's "Death of a Monarch procedure." The regulator's decision underscores expectations that broadcasters must handle sensitive, preprepared material with robust safeguards to prevent accidental transmission.
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