King Charles conspiracy theory takes the internet by storm

Kate Middleton conspiracy theorists appear to be turning their attention to King Charles III after seemingly unfounded rumors circulated online that a “hugely important royal announcement is imminent.”

The Princess of Wales has not been seen in clear, verifiable photos since Christmas Day after a photo released by Kensington Palace was doctored.

Speculation has gone into overdrive, with many on X (formerly Twitter) seeming convinced the palace is hiding something.

The frenzy over the weekend is also likely to sweep over the King after seemingly unfounded rumors that the BBC events team have been advised to prepare for the big announcement.

a post, 1.5 million viewsread: “The BBC has reportedly been told to be on the lookout for an ‘extremely important’ royal announcement.

“BBC Events Productions have reportedly been told to keep an eye out for ‘major announcements’ from the royal family in the wake of the current health crisis.”

The BBC has reportedly been told to keep an eye out for the “extremely important” royal announcement.

BBC event productions have reportedly been told to keep an eye out for “major announcements” from the royal family in the wake of the current health crisis. pic.twitter.com/zQiW7vyyO4

—Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) March 17, 2024

This, in turn, led some to speculate that the king had died – a suggestion that was implausible considering that news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death leaked so quickly that many reporters learned about it hours before Prince Harry did , this is excusable.

Firstly, the first person to receive the notification will be British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, followed by members of the British Cabinet, which means that the news will be spread through the staff of many British government civil servants.

When Elizabeth died, news organizations did get the news, and anchors began showing up dressed in black to prepare for the news to be broken.

However, there is no apparent reason, and no explanation provided, why the BBC was told to prepare an announcement but days later no announcement was made. Weekly newspaper It is understood the King will continue with reduced duties this week, as has been the case since he was diagnosed with cancer.

A version of this theory was noted by the X community over the weekend, with the following addendum: “Sources claiming that BBC Events has been told to prepare for ‘an extremely important royal announcement’ is a false rumor.

“It comes from the Instagram page ‘Popologist’ and they also say BBC Events only does weddings, coronations and funerals. But they don’t.”

Further conspiracy theories These include the fact that the BBC has changed its profile picture to black, but as another community note documented, its profile picture has actually been using this color for at least a month.

What we know so far:

• Flags were reportedly flown at half-mast outside government buildings across the UK.

• The BBC is reportedly awaiting “imminent news” from the royal family.

• @BBC‘s profile picture is black.

How are King Charles III and Kate Middleton doing? pic.twitter.com/AoirRbsSPf

— Cillian (@CilComLFC) March 18, 2024

But that didn’t stop news of Charles’ death from spreading like wildfire on social media, with speculation becoming increasingly extreme and seemingly taking little into account that real-life people were going through real health struggles.

In fact, according to records in the royal diary “Court Notices”, Charles met with the Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland on March 13; released a public video speech on March 11 to mark Commonwealth Day, and has been recovering from cancer in recent weeks. There were many face-to-face meetings with the Prime Minister during the treatment.

“Tampered Photo Controversy”

The speculation all started with social media accounts pointing out that it was unusual not to see any photos of Kate to reassure the public that her surgery went well.

Speculation had grown in the weeks before Kate released doctored photos of herself with her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on Mother’s Day in the UK.

Following the incident, four photo agencies “killed” the photo amid signs it had been doctored, while AFP suggested Kensington Palace was no longer considered a reliable source.

Kate and William, who took the altered photo, have been under pressure to release the original photo or a more reliable alternative, but more than a week has passed and aides have yet to release any new information.

Eric Schiffer of Reputation Management Consultants Weekly newspaper: “She’s had a major surgery and it’s normal to struggle and the royal family is trying to get people to see a different side and it’s acceptable for her to have a stressful time during the surgery and that’s normal.

“The younger generation wants transparency. What Kate and William do well is try to provide that.”

“No one is at their best after surgery,” he continued. “Then you see the palace trying to defuse the situation with a shot that was a bit over the top, now turning away from the camera and then asking further questions.

“They need to decide what Kate they want to show. Do they want to show the real Kate or do they want to show the Kate they’re making?

“I think they helped by showing Kate going through something that normal people would go through, which is that recovering from surgery isn’t that easy.

“This builds further trust and there’s nothing about the process that doesn’t improve. You don’t always need to improve everything, including the experience of surgery.”

Jack Royston is Weekly newspaperChief royal correspondent in London.You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jackroyston and read his story newsweek’s Royals Facebook page.

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