Did UK Royal Family Alert BBC To Be Ready for 'Major ...

In mid-March 2024, a rumor began to circulate on TikTok claiming a major announcement about the British royal family was imminent and the BBC Studios Events team had been notified to be on standby. The rumor was later shared on X with the hashtag "#RoyalAnnouncement."

Snopes traced this rumor to a March 16 article on the English-language, Pakistani newspaper The News International. The story featured the headline, "Royal family cues British media for major announcement 'at any moment.'"

The source cited by that article was a TikTok video posted by an account managed by the creators of the Pop Apologists podcast.

On either March 15 or 16, the @popapologists TikTok account posted a video as part of a series titled "Where TF Is Kate Middleton?" The series discussed purported news and conspiracy theories surrounding the subject of the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales, following her reported abdominal surgery in January and the retraction of a family photo that appeared to have been manipulated. At least one video in the series also looked at an unproven rumor regarding King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.

In the TikTok video, the Pop Apologists, identified on their YouTube channel as "sister duo Lauren and Chanler," said they had received "a very important tip" from an "insider." They conveyed that purported tip to their TikTok followers as follows:

BBC Events has reportedly been notified to be ready for an extremely important royal announcement at any moment. Do you know what BBC Events is responsible for covering? Weddings, coronations and funerals. Is there any world where Kate is no longer with us?

While it's true the BBC Studios Events team's website says it provides coverage of weddings, coronations and funerals regarding the royal family, Snopes has yet to find any further evidence corroborating the TikTok video's claim that the broadcast group was on standby for a major announcement. As such, we have chosen a fact-check rating of "Unproven." This rating does not mean the rumor is true or false. It simply is defined as meaning the people who made the claim have yet to show credible data confirming its accuracy.

Snopes contacted by email the BBC, BBC Studios Productions and the Pop Apologists team to ask about the rumor. This story will be updated if any further pertinent details are received.

By Jordan Liles

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.