King Charles Does Not Seem to Be Dead, Despite What You May Heave Heard Online

Anyone who has paid even a little bit of attention in early March of 2024 has likely heard something about Kate Middleton and the British Royal Family more generally. Needless to say, they've been dealing with a bit of a PR headache as Kate has been absent from public life following a surgery.

Now, more rumors are swirling around the royal family. This time, though, those rumors are focused more squarely on King Charles, and even include the rumor that flags are flying at half mast in the U.K. Here's what we know about whether that's true.

Thanks to a Twitter user with the handle @kimichkis, many people believed that there were many signs pointing to the fact that King Charles may have died.

"Flags at half mast in some government buildings, BBC going all black again, going also on stand by for a imminent 'big' royal announcement. Either King Charles is dead, abdicating, or Kate died," a tweet from them said, after they suggested that King Charles might be dead.

Ultimately, though, it seems like much of what that tweet said was happening in the U.K. is not true. No flags are flying at half mast at the moment, and at this point there are only rumors suggesting that the BBC may be standing by for a major royal announcement.

Even if that is the case, though, it seems unlikely that that announcement would be a major death. Instead, that news would likely break almost immediately after it happened.

After posting that original tweet, @kimichkis tried to clean things up, in part because the tweet went viral and got the whole internet to believe that Charles was near death.

"The first tweet was meant for my [followers] but I somehow single handedly started King /charles dead allegations and rumors. I'm literally crying watch me getting community noted," they wrote after saying several times that their only source was other people's tweets.

Although King Charles does not seem to be dead, the rumor achieved such widespread circulating in part because the royal family announced earlier this month that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. The royal family didn't offer any clarity on what kind of cancer Charles has, and said only that it had been discovered when he was undergoing surgery for an enlarged prostate.

Charles is likely undergoing some sort of treatment for the condition, but his ultimate prognosis is still unknown. Given the royal family's wealth and influence, it's obvious that he will receive the best possible treatment.

For the time being, though, it would seem that Charles is still very much alive, and hoping to keep things that way. Between these rumors and the speculation circling around Kate Middleton, though, it seems like it can't be a particularly fun time to be a well-known member of the royal family.