Radio Caroline Accidentally Announces King Charles's Death, Then Apologises: "Computer Error"

A former British pirate radio station has apologised after accidentally announcing the death of King Charles III. The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer error at Radio Caroline's main studio in Maldon in eastern Essex, the station said in a social media post.

The error triggered the so-called "death of a monarch" procedure – "which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require," wrote station manager Peter Moore. "Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology," he said on Facebook.

"Caroline has been pleased to broadcast Her Majesty the Queen's and now the King's, Christmas message and we hope to do so for many years to come," Moore said, referring to the monarch's traditional Christmas Day address to the nation. "We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused," he added.

The mishap on Tuesday came as Charles and Queen Camilla were in Northern Ireland, where they joined a performance with an Irish folk group. The station's post did not say how long it took to discover the mistake, but the domestic Press Association news agency reported that on Wednesday afternoon, playback for Tuesday's broadcast between 1:58 pm and 5:00 pm was unavailable on the station's website.

Established in 1964 to challenge the BBC's broadcasting monopoly, Radio Caroline previously operated from ships off the English coast. After legislation in 1967 forced many pirate broadcasters to close, the station continued intermittently before ending offshore broadcasts in 1990. Caroline and other similar pirate stations inspired the 2009 comedy film "The Boat that Rocked," starring Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman, about a group of eccentric DJs living and working together at sea.

So a pirate radio station founded to defy the BBC accidentally killed off the King. A computer error. The death-of-a-monarch procedure. Silence on air. Then an apology. The King, meanwhile, was perfectly fine, watching an Irish folk band in Northern Ireland. The station has apologised. The computer has presumably been rebooted. And Radio Caroline, which once broadcast from a ship to avoid the law, is now apologising for breaking the most basic rule of radio: check your facts before you announce a death. Especially if the person is alive. Especially if he is the monarch. Especially if he is about to deliver his Christmas message – which, one hopes, Radio Caroline will still broadcast. For many years to come. Assuming the computer behaves itself. The Boat That Rocked, indeed. This time, the boat nearly sank the monarchy. All in a day's work for a station that has never quite learned to follow the rules.