King Charles has been spotted leaving Windsor Castle and arriving at Clarence House in London this morning, hours after Russian media claimed he had passed away.
The monarch, 75, was seen seated in the back of a royal limousine as he departed his Berkshire home before arriving in the capital.
Yesterday, the British embassy in Moscow was forced to give an official statement confirming King Charles III is still alive after Russian media claimed he had died.
A host of Russian news sites and their associated social media accounts reported that the King had died as a result of cancer complications, citing unnamed 'media' sources in an inexplicable stream of posts.
An image of a fake statement from 'Buckingham Palace' reporting Charles' 'unexpected death' was circulated on social media.
Several prominent outlets reported the bogus news but it was not immediately clear whether they had made an error or whether Vladimir Putin's propaganda machine was directly behind it.
'Reports about the death of King Charles III of Great Britain are fake,' said the announcement, shortly after the British Embassy in Ukraine issued a similar message.
Early outlets running the fake report were RIA, Sputnik, Readkovka, and Mash - staunchly pro-Putin outlets - but all later corrected their stories.
Mash media outlet wrote: 'Britain's King Charles III has died, Buckingham Palace reports. The son of Elizabeth II ascended the throne less than a year ago - the coronation took place on May 6, 2023. He was 75 years old.'
It updated to say 'the message turned out to be fake' while adding: 'Let us remember that a few months ago he was diagnosed with cancer.'
But the outlet later stated: 'The fake news about the death of Charles III quickly spread and was just as quickly debunked.
'The King of Great Britain is alive and continues to go about his business. At least that's what Buckingham Palace says.'
Even Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova joined the fray, posting: 'London looks pathetic.'
Pro-Kremlin BAZA online media posted: 'The Russian media reported the death of British King Charles III with reference to a document allegedly published by Buckingham Palace.
'The screenshot of the message about the death of Charles III turned out to be fake.'
The fake palace announcement was dated today and said: 'The King passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.'
Independent outlet Meduza stated: 'A number of media and Telegram channels reported the death of the British King Charles III - with reference to a fake statement from Buckingham Palace.
'A screenshot of the statement, which became a news source, is provided, in particular, by the BAZA Telegram channel.
'This statement is not on the website or social networks of the royal family.'
Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti corrected its earlier report while admitting it was based on 'rumours', stating: 'The press service of Buckingham Palace denied RIA Novosti rumours about the death of King Charles III.
'He continues to conduct official and private affairs.
'Information about Charles' death appeared some time ago in many Russian sources. The basis for it was a certain message, the authorship of which was attributed to Buckingham Palace and which, apparently, turned out to be a fake.'
State news agency TASS reported that the story was fake.
The Kremlin's own newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, published by Putin's government, wrote: 'King Charles III continues to carry out work and private affairs, Buckingham Palace said.
'Previously, many Telegram channels published unverified and false information about the death of the monarch.'
