The Royal Navy has admitted an exercise on one of its airbases may have sparked a rumour that the Queen was dead.
Officials have said sorry for ''any misunderstanding'' after claims that HRH had passed went viral.
The rumour started on Sunday after a screenshot from a WhatsApp group chat was shared online, which stated that HRH had died of a heart attack.
Inside the image was a conversation believed to be between military personnel stating what equipment personnel would need for an exercise to do with the royal's passing.
In the group, one person named ‘Gibbo’ forwarded a message that read: “Queens passed away this morning, heart attack, being announced 930 AM tomorrow (sic).”
The message also reads: “Channel dash 0800 tomorrow in full number 1s, in your black kit bag you need: 1 set of 3s 1 set of 4s Underwear and socks for 2 weeks (sic).”
But now Royal Navy officials have confirmed that the message was part of a practice military exercise.
Personnel based at the Royal Navy Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton had been practising for an Operation London Bridge recall – the codename used for when the Queen dies.
It is thought that someone was sent the message and believed it to be real then forwarded it onto another.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “We can confirm an internal exercise took place at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in line with established contingency plans for recall of personnel.
“These exercises are conducted on a regular basis and no significance should be drawn from the timing of the exercise.
“While the exercise was conducted properly, we regret any misunderstanding this may have caused.”
