Prince Philip has been out of the limelight since retiring from royal duties back in 2017. And now, the Duke of Edinburgh has been targeted by cruel fake news rumours that he had passed away this week in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
However Buckingham Palace insiders have been quick to shut down the unfounded claims, saying the 98-year-old is “absolutely fine.”
“Source close to Buckingham Palace tells me he’s absolutely fine,” The UK’s Telegraph editor Gareth Davies told the Express.
“I don’t know what would possess someone to start a lie like that, but stop. It’s weird and incites panic. We don’t need that right now,” Gareth added on Twitter.
While royal sources also confirmed to ET Canada that Prince Philip is alive and well.
According to The Express, the fake news story began doing the rounds when a person alleged via message provider WhatsApp that the Duke had passed away from coronavirus, before it spread to Twitter. By Wednesday evening, Prince Philip was trending online.
Meanwhile it was business as usual for The Queen on Wednesday as she continued to carry out her private reception at Buckingham Palace with outgoing Commanding Officer of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, Commodore Steve Moorhouse.
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Sadly it’s not the first time Prince Philip has been the victim of a cruel death hoax.
In May 2017, the internet went into meltdown as the world braced for a big announcement from the palace with many speculating the Prince Philip had died.
At the time, several UK publications reported that Queen Elizabeth had summoned all of her UK staff and family members for an 11th-hour meeting at her London palace.
Staff from all around the UK, including Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringhamm, were requested to attend the briefing and Twitter went into overdrive with outlandish theories.
Ultimately, it was finally announced that Prince Philip would be officially stepping down from royal life.
Since his retirement, the Duke has been pictured keeping active and even carriage riding his beloved horses on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Despite his incredible zest for life, Prince Philip has had a few health scares over the years, including the shocking car crash he miraculously survived at the start of 2019. Most recently, he was hospitalised over the Christmas break.
Palace insiders insist Prince Philip is alive and well.
(Image: Getty)
