US blog Hollywood Unlocked has apologised for falsely reporting that the Queen had died.
Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday (20 February) that the Queen had tested positive for coronavirus.
“Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week,” a statement said.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines.”
On Tuesday 22 February, Hollywood Unlocked published a story on its site titled “HU Exclusive: Queen Elizabeth Dead”.
The first paragraph of the story – which, at the time of writing, is still live on the website – reads: “Socialites, it is with our deepest regret to inform you that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has died.
“Sources close to the Royal Kingdom notified us exclusively that Queen Elizabeth has passed away. She was scheduled to attend the wedding of British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, but was found dead.”
On Wednesday morning (23 February), the outlet shared its “deepest apologies” to the Royal Family in a tweet, calling the mistake an “embarrassing situation”.
“It was an accident and we’re working hard to make sure that this mistake never happens again,” the tweet said. “The intern journalist was misinformed and published the draft post by mistake.”
The post is reminiscent of one shared in 2015, in which then-presidential candidate Donald Trump blamed an intern for tweeting an image of Nazi troops in front of the White House.
The latest statement from Hollywood Unlocked comes after a tweet by the blog’s founder Jason Lee, who insisted shortly after the story was published that “we don’t post lies and I always stand by my sources”. He had added: “Waiting for an official statement from the palace.”
