That's not very sweet, Caroline: Radio station rapped for announcing King had died before playing national anthem

Published: 00:43, 11 August 2026 | Updated: 02:48, 11 August 2026 Former off-shore 'pirate' station Radio Caroline has found itself in deep water after mistakenly announcing the death of the King. Media regulator Ofcom said the announcement during The Barry Marsh Show on May 19 was a 'significant inaccuracy' on a matter of 'very high public interest'. Caroline, whose original presenters on a former ferry off the English coast in 1964 included Tony Blackburn and Dave Lee Travis, is now a licensed broadcaster based in Essex. The three pre-recorded announcements claiming that Charles had died were followed by a recording of the national anthem and – for those listening on DAB (digital audio broadcasting) – 16 minutes of silence. Half an hour later, a correction and apology were issued. An Ofcom investigation found that a staff member carrying out maintenance on the station's computer system played the pre-recorded files 'out of curiosity', not realising they would be broadcast.  Upon realising they had been, the staff member stopped the recordings, 'panicked and left the premises'. Ofcom said Caroline had breached a rule 'which requires news to be reported with due accuracy' and another which 'says significant mistakes must be corrected quickly'.  King Charles at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Radio Caroline located in Suffolk celebrates its 60th birthday with balloons and a banner It received two complaints from listeners. 'We considered this to have been a very significant inaccuracy about an issue of particular public importance,' the regulator added. 'Radio Caroline did not broadcast an apology and clarification until approximately 30 minutes after the inaccurate announcements.' Radio Caroline said it 'acted as soon as possible' after finding out what had happened and 'took the matter very seriously'. The staff member had been reprimanded and had apologised, it said, adding that the audio files had been removed from the desktop of the studio computer. Station manager Peter Moore said: 'Due to a computer error at our main studio, the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated... mistakenly announcing that His Majesty the King had passed away. 'Radio Caroline then fell silent, as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology. We apologise to His Majesty the King and to our listeners for any distress caused.' Radio Caroline was conceived by Irish businessman Ronan O'Rahilly in the early 1960s as a means to play alternative music not produced by major labels. It was unlicensed for many years and broadcast from a boat in international waters.