Posts miscaption old photo of King Charles III wearing jacket

Social media users are claiming a photo shows King Charles III wearing a misbuttoned suit jacket one day after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. But the posts are miscaptioned; the image was taken in The Gambia in November 2018.

"First day without his mom, look at the buttons on his suit jacket," says a September 17, 2022 tweet, which received tens of thousands of interactions.

Numerous posts sharing the same photo with similar captions spread across Twitter and other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Reddit.

"I'm speechless," says a widely shared Facebook post.

Members of the British royal family follow dress codes and are expected to live up to high standards in public appearance.

While the picture of Charles is authentic, it was taken on November 1, 2018 -- almost four years before the queen's death on September 8, 2022.

The photo shows Charles, then the Prince of Wales, alongside his wife Camilla at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Fajara, The Gambia. The cemetery is for World War II casualties.

Screenshot from Facebook taken September 19, 2022

Prince Charles, then the Prince of Wales, and Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, visit the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Fajara on November 1, 2018 ( POOL / File / AFP / LUC GNAGO)

 

Photos of Charles from September 9, 2022 show him wearing a suit in a different color.

Britain's King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, view floral tributes left outside of Buckingham Palace in London, on September 9, 2022 ( POOL / AFP / Yui Mok)

Britain's King Charles III speaks with Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss during their first meeting at Buckingham Palace in London on September 9, 2022 ( POOL / AFP / Yui Mok)

 

Charles is 73 years old -- not 74, as several of the social media posts claim. He turns 74 in November.

AFP has debunked other misinformation about Charles following the queen's death here.