Okay, so Donald Trump was right to coin the phrase, “fake news.” However, the false news cycle doesn’t help when it comes to a reigning monarch – Earlier, we posted about an American tabloid rumour that Her Majesty The Queen had died. While we never believed for a second that it was true, we wanted to expose how tabloids operate to get clicks and follows.
Charlie Proctor of Royal Central shared a similar thought as they said that the publication (which they’ve not named), but we did in our previous post, thought they [the other website] had a massive “royal” scoop.
Hollywood Unlocked, the publication which put out the death hoax, only did this to garner follows and views. As we stated in our post, the founder of the website stands by the reporting. Oh, yeah? Well, why is there no name attached to the byline? All it says is “Wpengine,” which is the name of a website host. Also, no proper journalist would ever say “royal kingdom” to describe any monarchy around the world.
Also, the outlet claims that The Queen was due to attend the wedding of British Vogue editor, Edward Enninful. Umm. No, she wasn’t. She is currently fighting off COVID-19. Moreover, in the last decade, she has only attended weddings of family members. Why would she go to a function of someone she probably doesn’t know? Not to mention, no actual source was named. Also, how is the “source” that claims she was found dead?
Not The First Time The Queen Has Had A False Death Report
So, this false rumour is not the first time Her Majesty has been subjected to a death hoax.
In December 2019, Harrison Jones of the Mirror reported that a hoax involving the Queen supposedly being dead spread throughout WhatsApp. Well, she was very much alive then, and she is now. In that hoax, it was reported she had died of a heart attack. People seriously have nothing better to do. Do they despise the monarchy so much that they make up false claims? Seems like it.
Political Figure Debunks The Hoax
BNO News reported earlier on the false news too. They included in their reporting that the chief of staff for the House of Lords, Dayo Okewale, said there is no credibility to the Hollywood Unlocked article. Moreover, this is further backed up by a Tweet Okewale put out.
Now, before you people who read Hollywood Unlocked come from us, why would a gossip mag in the US of all places be the first to break the news? Even Prerna Nambiar of HITC debunked the false news. Also, As Prerna mentioned in her article, a Guardian article from 2017 written by Sam Knight explains what happens when the Queen does eventually die. It should be noted that Her Majesty has received her COVID-19 vaccines and is being closely monitored by her doctors.
The Guardian Article
Sam Knight’s article in the Guardian, which is linked above, explains in great detail what happened in the days before the deaths of previous monarchs, Queen Victoria and King George V.
According to the article, before the monarch’s death is officially announced, her doctor will have a say in what is put out. With Queen Victoria, there was enough information put in the public domain to give the people the facts. The same applies to King George V.
Editor’s Note
Hey all, Cass here. I realised I made an error on what the protocol is called on the first post I did regarding this piece of false news. The protocol is called Operation: London Bridge.
Also, I’ve only included the link to the Hollywood Unlocked article to give those of you who are interested a look at what it looks says. I also want you to look at what misinformation looks like when it comes to reporting on the royals.
