UK media regulator Ofcom has ruled that Radio Caroline breached broadcasting rules after it mistakenly announced the death of King Charles III during a May broadcast.

The station, a former pirate radio broadcaster now known for its rock music programming, aired pre-recorded messages announcing the monarch’s supposed death. It later apologised for the incident.

One of the messages stated that normal programming had been suspended “as a mark of respect” following the reported death of King Charles III. The UK national anthem was then played, followed by about 16 minutes of silence before regular programming resumed.

According to Ofcom, the presenter apologised about 30 minutes after the false announcement was broadcast. The regulator received two complaints about the incident.

Ofcom said the broadcast represented a “very significant inaccuracy” and that the delay in acknowledging and correcting the mistake breached two broadcasting rules. One requires news reports to be accurate and impartial, while the other requires significant errors to be corrected promptly.

Radio Caroline told Ofcom that the incident occurred when a staff member accessed pre-recorded files intended for use in the event of the monarch’s death while carrying out maintenance on a studio computer.

The staff member reportedly played the files “out of curiosity” while the programme was being broadcast remotely. This interrupted the presenter’s remote stream and caused the pre-recorded announcement to go on air.

Ofcom said the staff member panicked after realising what had happened and left the premises. The remote presenter did not immediately realise the broadcast had been interrupted because they were not monitoring the output or responding to calls from the station.

Radio Caroline said the staff member had been reprimanded and had apologised. The station also confirmed that the pre-recorded death announcement files had been removed from the studio computer.