BBC mixup on Queen’s alleged death sheds light on plans
Early Wednesday, a BBC journalist sent out a tweet that briefly created chaos in newsrooms around the world: “Queen Elizabrth (sic) has died.”
“BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth is being treated at King Edward 7th Hospital in London,” Ahmen Khawaja followed up in a second tweet. “Statement due shortly.”
The Queen, however, was not dead. Although she was in hospital for an annual checkup, this appeared to be a coincidence.
Khawaja claimed her tweets were sent in error, and quickly deleted them. The BBC said the tweets had been sent during a “technical rehearsal for an obituary.”
The tweet did not reveal the death of a monarch, but it did offer a glimpse of the BBC’s remarkable preparation for its coverage of such an event. As Britain’s public service broadcaster, the BBC approaches reporting on the deaths of royals with a sombre professionalism. It currently lists four royals — the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Prince William — as “Category 1.”
If one of these dies, it is a huge event. Normal broadcasting is interrupted for an official announcement, likely a statement from Buckingham Palace. The national anthem is played. And, as it was after the death of George VI in 1952, all comedy on the BBC network is expected to be cancelled until the funeral is held.
BBC journalists are expected to rehearse for such an event. The last was the death of the Queen Mother in 2002. Though much has changed since then, the BBC will still make an official announcement on air, not on social media. Which brings up the most perplexing part of Wednesday’s accident: It happened on Twitter. Journalists had been told not to use social media during the rehearsal.
Some now suspect Khawaja, who reportedly was not part of the exercise, must have overheard the rehearsal and mistaken it for the real thing.