Social media can be a force for good. It can be a force for bad. It can also be a force unwarranted (though in hindsight, quite funny) panic.
That’s what happened last night when the hashtag #KingCharlesIII started trending. As anyone who was watching BBC Two last night will know, King Charles III was a feature-length drama adapted from the Tony-nominated stage play of the same name.
The story imagines the reign of the now Prince Charles (who would obviously become King Charles III) who, through a moment of doubt in signing a bill into law, starts a constitutional crisis which engulfs the Royal Family and threatens the future of the monarchy.
By most accounts, it was pretty damn good, with heaps of praise for the late Tim Pigott-Smith, who sadly passed away last month, in the role of Charles.
https://twitter.com/EileenAllen55/status/862400238971179009
Just finished watching #KingCharlesIII, what a cracking piece of television.
— Jason Manford (@JasonManford) May 10, 2017
#KingCharlesIII Outstanding BBC drama – a modern Shakespearian Tragedy. Well done all involved, and RIP Tim Pigott-Smith.
— Jacq Holbrook 💙 (@JAVH60) May 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/lauramcbride/status/862425255519956996
#KingCharlesIII truly the boldest, most innovative piece of BBC drama for many a moon – and a single play from the theatre at that!
— Illuminations (@Illuminations) May 10, 2017
The show was so popular that it didn’t take long for the hashtag #KingCharlesIII to trend on Twitter, but some people who weren’t watching jumped to a different confusion: that The Queen had died and Charles had ascended to the throne for real.
So if it’s not already clear: The Queen is not dead. She might be a lizard operating a human skin puppet, we don’t know, but she’s still alive.
Lizard or not, people were understandably freaking out at the idea that The Queen had died.
https://twitter.com/mustaphali6/status/862544395966582784
I literally thought the Queen had died oh my gosh. 😨 #KingCharlesIII
— Imogen¹²⁷ 🌙 ( ◠‿◠ )⁶⁶ (@fullsunarchive) May 11, 2017
It is NOT ok that #KingCharlesIII is trending because I freaked out and thought the queen had died and we now had a king oh my god
— gemma jane and the six (@gemmaisshort) May 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/missmillyyy/status/862432919108931584
https://twitter.com/stephhartley4/status/862406267784003591
Again, just to be clear, Liz the Lizard is alive and licking, no need to panic. And if you want to see what the fuss is all about, head to BBC iPlayer to catch King Charles III. But remember: The Queen is not dead. Lizard, maybe. Dead, not.
