A military drill hosted near Yeovil has been blamed for sparking rumours the Queen had died on Sunday night.
Millions of people across the UK piled onto social media after a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat from a mysterious sleuth known only as ‘Gibbo’ suggested the monarch had suffered a heart attack - but her death was being kept under wraps to allow the armed forces time to prepare for the fallout.
READ MORE: Queen death hoax spreads online
The message - posted into a group chat entitled ‘Old Times’ and featuring names like Burnsy, Cheeks, Morty, Ricey and Josh - stated the monarch’s death would not be announced until Monday morning.
It read: “Queens passed away this morning, heart attack, being announced 930 Am tomorrow, 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, washing kit, body washing kit, cities fornstand down.”
However, Portsmouth News reporter Tom Cotterill dug into the bizarre claims and uncovered evidence the Royal Navy had been carrying out a military exercise
Cotterill, going full Coleen Rooney, confirmed a tip off that staff at RNAS Yeovilton, a joint army and navy base, were participating in a training day for the operation codenamed ‘London Bridge’ - set to be put in place when the monarch does pass.
READ MORE: The secret strategy for the Queen dying in Scotland
A Royal Navy spokesperson told the Portsmouth News: “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.”
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