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His Royal Reptile? Video makes unfounded claims about King Charles III
If Your Time is short
- King Charles III is a human, not a reptile.
King Charles III inherited from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, both the monarchy and, it appears, allegations that he is a reptile.
"King Charles exposed at Buckingham Palace as ancient reptilian shapeshifter," reads the text flanking a nearly 10-minute video recently shared on Facebook.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The post’s video doesn’t expose King Charles as an ancient reptilian shapeshifter. Rather, it loosely threads together minotaur imagery, Charles’ taurus moon sign, and a bull featured in the opening ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games as proof of "pure satanic reptilian activity" at the palace.
Later, Charles’ May 6 coronation is cited as evidence of the new king’s true identity because of its proximity to a lunar eclipse in Scorpio.
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But claims that members of the British royal family are and were reptilian are unfounded and part of a long-running conspiracy theory. In 1998, Time reported, former BBC reporter David Icke published a book called "The Biggest Secret," which falsely claimed members of the royal family "are nothing more than reptiles with crowns."
Featured Fact-check
In 2022, we rated Pants on Fire a claim that Queen Elizabeth II was a reptile. Outside of the United Kingdom, President Joe Biden has similarly been falsely accused. In 2021, we fact-checked a claim that a video proved he wasn’t human because a snake had been seen emerging from his jacket during a debate with then-President Donald Trump. It wasn’t a snake; it was a rosary Biden wears to remember his late son, Beau.
Joe Biden is human, and so is Charles.
We rate claims King Charles III was exposed as a reptilian shapeshifter Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, Aug. 6, 2023
PolitiFact, Reptilian conspiracy theory continues after queen’s death, Sept. 12, 2022
The Guardian, Commonwealth Games 2022 opening ceremony – as it happened, July 28, 2022
The Cut, Another Eclipse Is Coming to Wreak Astrological Havoc, May 4, 2023
PolitiFact, No, this video doesn’t prove Biden isn’t human, March 22, 2021
Insider, The bizarre origins of the lizard-people conspiracy theory embraced by the Nashville bomber, and how it's related to QAnon, Jan. 7, 2021
Time, The Reptilian Elite, visited Sept. 9, 2022
The Atlantic, How to spot the reptilians running the U.S. government, Oct. 31, 2013
The Guardian, Conspiracy craze: why 12 million Americans believe alien lizards rule us, April 7, 2016
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More by Ciara O'Rourke
His Royal Reptile? Video makes unfounded claims about King Charles III
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