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Royal Navy officials have admitted an exercise on one of its airbases may have sparked a rumour that the Queen had died of a heart attack.

The rumour started on Sunday when a screenshot from a WhatsApp group chat was posted on social media. Inside the image was a conversation believed to be between military personnel.

One person, named ‘Gibbo’, wrote: “Queens passed away this morning, heart attack, being announced 930 AM tomorrow (sic).”

In a message that appears to give four colleagues a drill, Gibbo, said: “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 (sic).”

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The screengrabs claim to give details of instructions sent to guards. But the comrades are sceptical of Gibbo and one named Ricey says he has text another ‘guy in the guards’ to confirm.

However, after the blunder went viral it has been revealed as a military drill at a Royal Navy base, The News reports.

Personnel based at the Royal Navy Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton had been practising for an Operation London Bridge recall – the codename used for when the Queen dies.

It is thought that someone was sent the message and believed it to be real then forwarded it onto another.

Speaking to The News, a Royal Navy spokesman said: “We can confirm an internal exercise took place at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in line with established contingency plans for recall of personnel.

“These exercises are conducted on a regular basis and no significance should be drawn from the timing of the exercise.

“While the exercise was conducted properly, we regret any misunderstanding this may have caused.”

The message was also posted to Fill Your Boots UK military comedy page. Former paratrooper Alfie Usher shared the message online but had to remove it from Facebook after he was bombarded with questions.