Long Live King Chrrls the Furst!

So there's good news and there's bad news. Let's start with the bad news: a reporter for the BBC announced on Twitter today that Queen Elizabrth has died. The good news is that there is no Queen Elizabrth and reporter Ahmen Khawaja has learned a valuable lesson about the importance of spellcheck.

"Uh...whoops."

-Ahmen Khawaja, BBC News

"Tragedy today as Queen Elizabeth
was devoured by wolves..."

The similarly named Queen Elizabeth II is, of course, alive and well and had gone to hospital (I know, but it's how British people say it) for a routine medical exam. The BBC explained that Khawaja's tweet was part of a rehearsal for the day when the Queen really does die. Which, ok, kind of ghoulish right? But I suppose preparing for unforeseen celebrity deaths is pretty common in the media. I mean, anyone could be picked off at any time by a Squeeky Fromm or botched eye tuck, so it's probably good to be prepared for anything.

"Dead? Us? Oh not quite. In fact,
I daresay we shall bury you all..."

-The Dread Queen Elizabeth II

But rehearsing the Tweet? I don't think I buy that. They're the BBC, reporting on things that happen is their entire job. Good health or no, she is like 89. Reporters should be able to overcome their shock and manage a Tweet when the time comes without too much preparation. Like are they trying to see how quickly they can type out "The Queen is dead?" Is it a race to see who can announce the Queen's death first? Is that really-wait, holy shit that's exactly what it is. 

Wow that's cold. Sure, there's probably some prestige that comes along with breaking important news like this. I get that, but calling it early just makes everyone look like vultures circling a wounded gazelle in the desert. They probably even have a pool going.