Prince Philip is not dead yet.
If you read otherwise online, it’s wrong.
Queen Elizabeth II’s 95-year-old husband will retire later this year from his royal duties and all public engagements, Buckingham Palace officials announced late Wednesday evening.
“In taking this decision, [The Duke of Edinburgh] has the full support of The Queen,” palace officials said in a statement. “Her Majesty will continue to carry out a full programme of official engagements with the support of members of the Royal Family.”
“Prince Philip will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August, both individually and accompanying The Queen. Thereafter, The Duke will not be accepting new invitations for visits and engagements, although he may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time,” it added.
Royal staff were informed of the decision during an emergency meeting called by the Queen.
However, due to the sudden and secretive nature of the meeting, there was rampant speculation this week regarding the health of the royals.
Unfortunately, some in media got ahead of themselves and participated in spreading the very false rumor that Philip had died.
“BREAKING: French media reporting that Prince Philip has died at age 95,” Darrell Green, who anchors for a Tennessee Fox News affiliate, said in a now-deleted tweet.
Stephen Clark of ABC 7 in Detroit, Mich., tweeted, “French media reports – unconfirmed – that Prince Phillip [sic] may have passed. #rumornotfact.”
“Unconfirmed French media reports are also suggesting Prince Phillip [sic] has died,” said the Toronto Star’s Tara Deschamps.
Oddly enough, there does not appear to be any such French report. Rather, the rumor appears to have started with a single claim, and then spread on social media, as BuzzFeed’s Brandon Wall noted.
However, worse than even these tweets was the U.K. tabloid the Sun, which accidentally published a half-written obituary for Prince Philip online early Thursday morning.
The headline read, “Prince Philip dead at 95, how did the Duke of Edinburgh die, etc etc.”
The phony news headline Philip’s not-death was online for only a little while before it was pulled down altogether.
“We are mortified this happened,” a Sun spokesperson told the New York Times.
The royals may be getting up there in their years, but they still appear to be in decent health. When either of them passes away, you’ll know it. It won’t be shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty.
