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Well, it’s safe to say that December is off to a strange start.

Thanks to somebody named Gibbo, all talk on Twitter has turned to Queen Elizabeth II.

A screenshot has been shared around from a WhatsApp group called ‘Old times’ suggesting that the Queen had passed away.

It quickly caused a panic, but most were confident that such sensitive news wouldn’t leak via a WhatsApp chat with a bunch of people called Gibbo, Cheeks and Burnsy etc. Especially when the chat icon is of a penis. Yes, seriously…

Despite how obviously false the information was, the editor-in-chief at Royal Central – Charlie Proctor – decided it was best to dispel the rumours. In a recent tweet, he clarified: “I see we have reached that time of year where I have to dispel rumours of HM’s passing. The Queen is not dead. She is alive & well and is very much looking forward to hosting President Trump and other world leaders at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for the NATO reception.”

There you have it, but what happened?

This content could not be loaded I see we have reached that time of year where I have to dispel rumours of HM’s passing. The Queen is not dead. She is alive & well and is very much looking forward to hosting President Trump and other world leaders at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for the NATO reception. — Charlie Proctor (@MonarchyUK) December 1, 2019

Gibbo, Cheeks and others on WhatsApp

In a WhatsApp group, with members Burnsy, Cheeks, Gibbo, Josh, Morty… etc, somebody named Gibbo wrote the following message [reshared screenshot on Twitter]: “Queens passed away this morning, heart attack, being announced 9.30 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… from a guards reg WhatsApp group.”

This content could not be loaded Did people really actually believe the queen had died and the news broke via a whats app group?? — Paul Owen (@paulowen23) December 2, 2019

Queen memes flood Twitter!

Of course, the public has dealt with the bizarre message accordingly… with memes.

So many have already surfaced on Twitter. Take a look at some of the best ones so far:

This content could not be loaded Queen Elizabeth when she wakes up tomorrow morning and checks her news feed pic.twitter.com/k1mGBouPQG — Clewsy (@joeclews_) December 1, 2019

This content could not be loaded Looks like we’re getting a VAR check on the death of Queen Elizabeth II pic.twitter.com/HFI3ZnQF5M — M (@SaintMatt7) December 1, 2019

This content could not be loaded Twitter: ThE qUeEn iS dEaD Queen Elizabeth: pic.twitter.com/RIW9ggie5V — Timeline Terrorist (@Timeline2019) December 1, 2019

This content could not be loaded Queen Elizabeth found dead in Buckingham Palace after being declared ‘fit for work’. pic.twitter.com/n8DshgsllM — SIDNEY (@dylcollett) December 1, 2019

People react to Queen Elizabeth WhatsApp rumours

Away from the memes, a number of people have taken to Twitter to joke about the absurdity of the incident.

On recently said: “I don’t trust WhatsApp rumours. I won’t believe the Queen’s dead until I see it announced the official palace TikTok account.”

Another weighed in: “I hate that I have to go through all the Twitter trends to work out if we know the Queen is dead or not only to find out the only info comes from a screenshot of a WhatsApp group chat from a guy called Gibbo.”

One also joked: “Feel like it’s the singular most British thing for some guy called Gibbo in a WhatsApp group chat to convince a bunch of people the Queen’s dead.”

In other news, has Final Space been renewed?