Two fake BBC accounts tweeted Queen Elizabeth II "is dead at the age of 90" in a hoax on Thursday (29.12.16) night.
Queen Elizabeth
It was claimed the British monarch had passed away in "unknown" circumstances by the accounts with the handles @BBCNewsUKI and @BBCNewsUKk and the news quickly spread across the social networking site, with the French ambassador to the U.S., Gérard Araud, retweeting the message before realizing it was a cruel prank.
The hoax tweet read: "BREAKING: Buckingham Palace announces the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 90. Circumstances are unknown. More to follow.(sic)"
The fake BBC accounts have now been suspended and Buckingham Palace has refused to comment.
It's not the first time the Queen has been the victim of a morbid hoax.
BBC reporter Ahmen Khawaja shocking posted on Twitter last year: "Elizabrth (sic) has died: @BBCWorld."
She later admitted that she hadn't realised a royal obituary rehearsal she had witnessed at work wasn't was real.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth was too ill to attend the traditional Christmas morning service at the church on her Sandringham estate in Norfolk as she was recovering from a "heavy cold," and it was the first time in 30 years that the monarh had been absent.
However, a palace spokesperson told Us Weekly she would "participate in the royal family Christmas celebrations during the day."
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