2016 was the year of “fake news” so it’s seems almost suitable that it ends with rumours of the Queen’s death and an alleged media cover-up.
A spoof BBC News Twitter account sent people into a panicked frenzy on Thursday evening when it announced Her Majesty’s demise.
This being the internet many people took the news as gospel, with panic turning to embarrassment as the truth dawned.
One gent even ran to Buckingham Palace to check.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh continue to recover from their heavy colds.”
But this is 2016, a year where literally anything goes, so it was only natural that the complete lack of any evidence of the Queen’s death wasn’t enough to deter the conspiracy theorists.
So obviously, the most likely explanation is that she is in fact dead and the media is covering it up.
But we would say it was all untrue, wouldn’t we?
By Friday morning #MediaBlackout was top trend on Twitter.
This year has been particularly bad for celebrity deaths and the Queen’s recent ill-health that led to her delaying her usual Christmas trip to Sandringham will do nothing to quell the rumours.
The Queen traditionally spends the festive period with her family gathered around her at her Norfolk estate.
In the German tradition, presents are opened on Christmas Eve before a candlelit banquet.
Both the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had heavy colds and decided not to travel to Sandringham on Wednesday.