RismadarVoice Reporters
August 10, 2026
A UK community radio station breached broadcasting rules after it mistakenly announced the death of King Charles III during a May broadcast, the country’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has said.
Radio Caroline, a former pirate station now known largely for its rock music programming, apologised after the broadcast, which falsely reported that the monarch had died.
The station aired a message stating that normal programming had been suspended as a mark of respect following the reported death of King Charles III. The national anthem was subsequently played, followed by about 16 minutes of silence before regular programming resumed.
According to Ofcom, the presenter apologised about 30 minutes after the false announcement was broadcast.
The regulator said it received two complaints over the incident and determined that the broadcast violated two of its rules.
Ofcom said the announcement represented a “very significant inaccuracy” and criticised the delay in acknowledging and correcting the error.
One of the rules requires broadcasters to ensure that news reports are accurate and impartial, while another requires significant errors to be acknowledged and corrected promptly on air.
Radio Caroline explained that the incident occurred when a staff member accessed pre-recorded audio files designed for use in the event of the monarch’s death while carrying out maintenance on a studio computer.
At the time, the station’s programme was being broadcast remotely. The staff member reportedly played the files out of curiosity, which interrupted the remote presenter’s stream and caused the pre-recorded announcement to go on air.
Ofcom said the staff member “panicked and left the premises” after realising what had happened.
The station explained that the remote presenter would not have immediately known that the broadcast had been interrupted unless they were monitoring the station’s output through an internet-based monitoring system.
The presenter, believing the programme was still being broadcast normally, was not actively monitoring their phone and therefore did not immediately respond to calls from colleagues who had noticed the error.
Radio Caroline said the employee responsible for triggering the files had been reprimanded and had apologised.
The station also confirmed that the pre-recorded announcements had since been removed from the studio computer to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
