Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99. However, long before his actual death, rumblings began that the Duke of Edinburgh had died, when he hadn’t. In 2018, Town & Country reported on a slew of rumors about Prince Philip that had spread on social media, leading multiple news publications to prepare articles detailing what happens when a member of the royal family passes away. While the Twitter posts suggesting the prince had died turned out to be false, it showed just how easily social media users could be swayed by fake news.
When rumors of Prince Philip’s death were ignited once again in 2020, Royal Central dismissed the false reports, reiterating that the duke had been out of the spotlight since he retired. The publication noted that the prince was, in fact, spending time at his Wood Farm property on the queen’s Sandringham Estate. Having announced his retirement in 2017, it makes sense that Philip would retreat from the spotlight and not be seen at any official royal duties in subsequent years.
Unfortunately, the announcement of Prince Philip’s death in April 2021 didn’t stop conspiracy theories from circulating. Instead, QAnon allegedly shared theories, including the idea that the prince was executed, that he had died due to the COVID-19 vaccination, or that his death was a cover for illegal activity.
