On May 1, 2024, a Facebook account shared an article from its own “nostalgia enthusiasts” website claiming King Charles III’s funeral plans had been updated because his battle with cancer was not going well.
The headline read: “King Charles’ Funeral Plans Updated As His Cancer Prognosis Looking Grim.”
Similar posts appeared on X, including on the accounts of a range of news outlets, such as the New York Post, Page Six and Insider Paper.
Together, the posts had amassed more than 5.7 million interactions, at the time of this writing.
But the story originated from the U.S. news website The Daily Beast, according to the New York Post, and cited anonymous sources. On April 25, 2024, The Daily Beast published an excusive article claiming the British monarch’s funeral plans were being regularly updated because he is “very unwell.”
The article’s headline read: “King Charles’ Funeral Plans Dusted Off, as His Health Remains a Mystery.”
The story said:
“Officials are reviewing copies of a several-hundred-page document entitled ‘Operation Menai Bridge’—the codeword for King Charles’ death.”
Friends of the king reportedly told The Daily Beast his health is “not good,” but the story also said officials would not respond to formal requests for comment. The website allegedly learned Charles’ funeral plans were being regularly updated, and a document reviewing what went well following Queen Elizabeth II’s death was being shared around the British government.
The story added the king was “really very unwell” and “more than they are letting on”:
One old friend of the family, for example, told The Daily Beast, “Of course he is determined to beat it [cancer] and they are throwing everything at it. Everyone is staying optimistic, but he is really very unwell. More than they are letting on.”
The Daily Beast also posted the article numerous times on its X account, amassing more than 144,000 views.
Snopes could not substantiate the claims made in the article due to the website’s use of anonymous sources, so we contacted The Daily Beast for further information, along with Buckingham Palace and the British Cabinet Office, and will update this article if we receive a response.
The British monarch’s health was the focus of another unproven rumor in March 2024, when a celebrity gossip magazine claimed Charles had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given just two years to live. The magazine’s article was also based on quotes from anonymous sources.
At the time of this writing, Buckingham Palace had only issued two statements regarding the King’s health since its original news release on Feb. 5, 2024. Neither mentioned his cancer diagnosis worsening or “looking grim,” while the latest statement said Charles “will shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation.”
On May 3, 2024, the monarch appeared at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in Windsor, Berkshire.
Sources:
‘A statement from Buckingham Palace’. Royal.UK, 5 Feb. 2024, https://www.royal.uk/a-statement-from-buckingham-palace-5Feb24.
‘A thank you message from His Majesty The King’. Royal.UK, 10 Feb. 2024, https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2024-02-10/a-thank-you-message-from-his-majesty-the-king.
Hardinges, Nick. ‘King Charles III Was Diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, Given 2 Years To Live?’ Snopes, 1 Apr. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/king-charles-pancreatic-cancer/.
‘King Charles Hugged by Zara Tindall at Royal Windsor Horse Show’. BBC News, 3 May 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9rn4qeryro.
Sykes, Tom. ‘King Charles’ Funeral Plans Dusted Off, as His Health Remains a Mystery’. The Daily Beast, 25 Apr. 2024. www.thedailybeast.com, https://www.thedailybeast.com/king-charles-funeral-plans-dusted-off-as-his-health-remains-a-mystery.
‘The King returns to public-facing duties’. Royal.UK, 26 Apr. 2024, https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2024-04-26/the-king-returns-to-public-facing-duties.
The Royal Family Channel. Cheerful King Blown-Away at Royal Windsor Horse Show. 2024. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgGJvpPKC6A.
