False rumours that spread across the internet about the Queen having died were started after a military exercise, the royal navy has said.

Officials said they “regret any misunderstanding” after the hoax became widespread and said that “no significance” should have been drawn from the exercise.

Over the weekend, a rumour spread quickly across WhatsApp and then other social media channels that suggested the Queen had died.

It began when a screenshot of a conversation was shared online. In it, people suggested that the military had been secretly informed that the Queen had died.

“Queens passed away this morning, heart attack, being announced 930 AM tomorrow,” one person, referred to as ‘Gibbo’ in the chat, said. That person went on to provide specific details of the kit that should be brought and the procedures that should be followed.

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The navy has now confirmed that it was conducting an exercise – but that it was simply a drill, and that nothing had happened to trigger the event.

“We can confirm an internal exercise took place at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in line with established contingency plans for recall of personnel,” a spokesperson told local paper Portsmouth News.

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