A radio station has apologised for “any distress caused” after accidentally announcing that King Charles had died.

The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer error at Radio Caroline’s main studio in Essex.

Station manager Peter Moore wrote on Facebook: “Due to a computer error at our main studio, the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), mistakenly announcing that HM the king had passed away.

“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology.

“Caroline has been pleased to broadcast Her Majesty the Queen’s, and now the king’s, Christmas message and we hope to do so for many years to come.

“We apologise to HM the king and to our listeners for any distress caused.”

The post did not say how long it was before the mistake was discovered but on Wednesday afternoon, playback for Tuesday’s broadcast between 1.58 pm and 500 pm was unavailable on the station’s website.

The incident came as the king and queen were in Northern Ireland, where they joined a performance with a folk group.

Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, also watched dancers and sipped Irish whiskey in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter on the first day of their trip.

Established in 1964, Radio Caroline is a former pirate radio station which operated from ships off the English coast.

After legislation in 1967 forced many pirate broadcasters to close, it continued intermittently before ending offshore broadcasts in 1990.

Caroline and other similar pirate stations inspired the 2009 comedy film The Boat that Rocked starring Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman about a group of eccentric DJs living and working together at sea.

On Tuesday, the BBC apologised after a scheduling error meant that listeners to Elaine Paige’s show heard a repeat of the previous week’s programme.

The singer and actor, 78, hosts a show on Radio 2 every week called Elaine Paige On Sunday.

An error meant listeners heard the wrong second hour of her show last Sunday.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately, due to a scheduling error, the incorrect second hour of the show was broadcast yesterday.

“We apologise to listeners and are currently looking into how this occurred.

“The correct programme is now available on BBC Sounds.”