British radio station issues apology after wrongly announcing King Charles III's death

A radio station has been forced to issue an official apology after wrongly announcing King Charles III's death.

Radio Caroline, a UK-based broadcaster which serves the Midlands and the South of England, made the blunder a little after 2pm on Tuesday (19 May).

Liston below:

According to listeners, the major mishap, which is available to listen to on Radiofail, saw the radio's regular broadcast interrupted with an announcement saying that the reigning monarch had passed away.

The station then played 'God Save the King', and the broadcast was then stopped for around 15 minutes before they came back on air.

The hosts then immediately apologised after the broadcast came back.

Earlier today (20 May), Radio Caroline shared a statement on the matter.

Taking to Facebook, the statement revealed that the mistake happened due to a 'computer error' before apologising to listeners 'for any distress caused'.

The full statement reads: "Due to a computer error at our main studio the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), mistakenly announcing that HM the King had passed away.

A radio station wrongly broadcast that King Charles III had passed away on Tuesday afternoon (Max Mumby/Indigo / Contributor / Getty Images)

"Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology."

The statement continued: 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."

It concluded: "We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused. Peter Moore, Station Manager."

Radio Caroline shared the apology to social media earlier today (Facebook/Radio Caroline)

People have since rushed to the comments to share their reaction to the news, with one Facebook user writing: "It was a shock, but after telling my wife and neighbours I realised it was a mistake - and perhaps it was the relief, but then the laughter set in."

A second chimed in: "I heard this on my car stereo yesterday as I was just leaving work, and for a moment I had to ask myself whether it was true or just a sick joke. Thankfully, it was neither but instead a simple technical error."

"Plus side, at least you know the procedure for this is working and in place," offered a third.

Another echoed: "I immediately checked elsewhere online and knew it must have been a technical issue. Thank goodness you're back up and running."

And a final Facebook user resolved: "None of us goes through life without making the odd mistake."

Tyla has reached out to Radio Caroline for further comment.