Rumours of an emergency meeting called at Buckingham Palace have sent social media into a spiral, with speculation abound about what the meeting is for.

According to the Daily Mail, staff from as far away as Scotland have been called in for the meeting in the early hours of Thursday morning (local time).

When contacted by Newshub, the Buckingham Palace denied reports the Queen or Prince Philip had died, saying both were "alive and well".

But for more than an hour beforehand, the Palace wasn't responding to media queries, prompting wide speculation online.

There were reports French media had confirmed Prince Philip had died; no one named or quoted the French media in question in their tweets.