The British embassies in Moscow and Kiev on Monday rejected Russian media reports claiming that King Charles III has died.
"Reports about the death of King Charles are FAKE!" red a large post with a red background on the page of UK in Russia's X, formerly Twitter. The information was also available in Russian.
On the UK in Ukraine page, embassy officials wrote: "We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake."
That sentence was written above a rectangular post with a red background, albeit smaller than the one on the UK in Russia page, and available in both English and Ukrainian.
The false reports initially spread on Monday afternoon on the Russian-speaking part of the Internet, fuelled by Telegram channels that specialize in sensational reporting.
As evidence, a facsimile of a supposed communication from Buckingham Palace was shown.
The online editions of Russian tabloid media also picked up the news before it was exposed as a fake.
"It is now known that the screenshot was false and the king is alive," the Mash channel wrote.
The British royal family currently faces a plethora of rumors and conspiracy theories.
Charles is being treated for cancer, but continues to run state affairs and has already been photographed doing so.
His daughter-in-law Princess Kate is recovering from an operation and is not expected to attend public appointments again until after Easter, which has fuelled massive speculation about her well being.
A recently released photo of Kate and her three children was found to have been doctored. Kate admitted that she had altered the photo, saying she experiments with photo editing on occasion. The incident led to more speculation that she is unwell.
