Community radio station Radio Caroline breached broadcasting rules after accidentally announcing the death of King Charles III during a May broadcast, the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom said on Monday.
Radio Caroline, a former pirate radio station that now primarily broadcasts rock music, had apologised after pre-recorded messages falsely announcing the death of the monarch were aired.
One of the messages stated: “We have suspended our normal programmes until further notice as a mark of respect following the passing of His Majesty King Charles III.”
The announcement was followed by the playing of the UK national anthem and approximately 16 minutes of silence before the station’s regular programming resumed.
According to Ofcom, the presenter apologised about 30 minutes after the messages were initially broadcast.
The regulator said it had received two complaints concerning the incident and concluded that the broadcast contained a “very significant inaccuracy”. It also criticised the considerable length of time taken to acknowledge and correct the error.
Ofcom said the incident breached two of its broadcasting rules — one requiring news to be reported with due accuracy and impartiality, and another requiring significant mistakes to be promptly acknowledged and corrected on air.
Radio Caroline explained that the incident occurred when a staff member accessed sound files that had been pre-recorded in preparation for the eventual death of the monarch.
The staff member was reportedly carrying out maintenance on the studio computer while the programme was being streamed remotely. According to Ofcom, the person played the files “out of curiosity”, which interrupted the stream from the presenter’s remote location and caused the pre-recorded material to be broadcast.
The staff member reportedly panicked after realising what had happened and left the premises.
Radio Caroline told Ofcom that the remote presenter would not have known they had gone off air unless they were monitoring the station’s output through an internet monitor.
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.
The station said the staff member responsible had been reprimanded and had apologised for the incident.
Radio Caroline also confirmed that the pre-recorded files announcing the monarch’s death had subsequently been removed from the studio computer.
The incident highlights the potential consequences of broadcasting pre-recorded emergency or contingency material, particularly when such content concerns major national events involving members of the Royal Family.
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