King Charles III Spotted After False Russian Media Death Claims

Two appearances by King Charles III have swiftly put to bed false claims by Russian media that Britain’s monarch had died.

The 75-year-old king was spotted on Tuesday leaving Windsor Castle and arriving at Clarence House, hours before hosting an audience with veterans at Buckingham Palace to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.

King Charles was photographed hosting veterans associated with the conflict. As many as 60,000 members of the British Armed Forces served in the war, with 1,100 people losing their lives in Korea. Around 227,000 South Korean troops were also killed during the conflict. 

While King Charles met with some Korean War veterans, Princess Anne and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, later hosted a separate reception Tuesday for hundreds of veterans on his behalf, which he did not attend. Anne, Princess Royal, delivered her brother’s speech for him. “It has been a personal ambition of mine to invite you all, in some form, to Buckingham Palace to recognize this significant milestone and ensure you are all most deservingly honored for your valiant service over 70 years ago,” the King’s speech said. Anne also expressed Charles’ disappointment that he could not attend in person. 

King Charles is still receiving treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer, news he made public in February. The monarch has  reduced his duties and cut back on public appearances while he recovers. Working royals within the family are set to support the King with some of his official duties during this time.  

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King Charles’ appearances come a day after the British government and its Moscow and Kyiv embassies had to declare that the monarch was alive amid false rumors of his death spread by Russian media. On Monday, Russian state media and some social media accounts cited unknown sources in their stories claiming that King Charles had died. The false claims spread to the media in Ukraine and Tajikistan.

Broader speculation and misinformation about the royal family is swirling, with conspiracy theories spreading about Kate Middleton’s health, whereabouts, and marriage to Prince William after the Princess of Wales retreated from the public eye after a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. A short video shared by tabloids TMZ and The Sun on Monday showed Kate leaving a farm shop in Windsor alongside William. Kensington Palace has not commented on the video.

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