Conspiracy theories around Royal family abuzz on social media as BBC asked to be on standby

Amidst concerns about King Charles's health, speculations on platform X, including mentions of flags at half-mast in government buildings, have fueled rumors of the monarch's demise. There was no confirmation about the same from the Royal Family.

King Charles’ health has been in the news ever since his prostate surgery was performed at The London Clinic last month. During the medical procedure, doctors noticed “a separate issue of concern". Subsequently, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. 

According to the Palace, Charles did not undergo prostate surgery due to cancer, as they confirm he does not have prostate cancer. However, based on doctors' recommendations, the monarch has scaled back some of his public engagements. Nonetheless, he continues to hold weekly meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

On March 15, King Charles was seen departing Windsor Castle shortly after receiving news of the passing of his longtime friend Ian Farquhar at the king's Highgrove estate. Prior to this, on March 14, King Charles held meetings with the High Commissioner of Jamaica and his wife at Buckingham Palace. Before that, he held a video call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He also held meetings with the ambassadors from Algeria and Mauritania.

Meanwhile, there have been speculations and conspiracy theories on social media, mostly X (formerly twitter) that King Charles could have passed away. 

“In the United Kingdom, flags are at half-mast in some government buildings," claimed one user on X. “Either King Charles is dead, abdicating or Kate Middleton died," the user claimed. "The streets are saying King Charles is dead?" the user added.

The X user is, however, not the only one claiming so. “Word on the street being King Charles died on Saint Patrick’s Day?" wrote another user.

Many social media users pointed out that it was Saint Patrick's Day (March 17), a holiday for Ireland, apparently referring to Princess Diana's Irish roots.

Lauren and Chen, the sisters behind the 'Popapologists' podcast, shared a video on TikTok about Princess Kate's health. They talked about her not attending the Trooping the Colour event in June.

Princess Kate, 42, hasn't appeared in public since her abdominal surgery in January. This week, she said “sorry" for “manipulating" a photo released by the palace of her and her three kids. This apology made people more curious about her health and her whereabouts.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sounak Mukhopadhyay
Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and sports. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer.
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Published: 18 Mar 2024, 09:32 AM IST