False Claims Circulate About Sadiq Khan Cancelling Nonexistent Royal Garden Bridge Ceremony

In a striking case of online misinformation, videos circulating on social media platforms have falsely alleged that London Mayor Sadiq Khan cancelled a royal ceremony without informing King Charles, sparking a constitutional crisis that never actually occurred.

The fabricated videos, which have accumulated more than 100,000 views across various platforms, particularly Facebook, present themselves as legitimate news reports describing a major political confrontation between City Hall and Buckingham Palace. According to these false reports, Khan allegedly cancelled what they call the “King’s garden bridge ceremony” citing security concerns, without informing the monarch beforehand.

The fictitious narrative claims that King Charles learned about the cancellation through Twitter, prompting Buckingham Palace to issue a statement declaring the event would proceed as originally scheduled. The videos further elaborate that palace sources described the King as being in a “controlled fury” over the mayor’s decision.

Taking the fabrication even further, the videos assert that the King invoked a “rarely used royal prerogative” that supposedly allows the monarch to “seize public space for national ceremonies” – a power that does not actually exist within Britain’s constitutional framework.

Fact-checkers have confirmed that no such incident occurred, and the entire story is a complete fabrication. There was no “garden bridge ceremony” scheduled, nor was there any royal event cancelled by the Mayor of London without the King’s knowledge.

While a Garden Bridge project was once proposed for London – a pedestrian crossing over the River Thames featuring trees and plants – this initiative was actually abandoned in 2017 after significant controversy over its funding and feasibility. No part of the structure was ever built, and there have been no royal ceremonies planned in connection with it.

The false videos also make additional unsubstantiated claims, including that £1.7 billion was raised to support the non-existent event and that “pro-veteran protests erupted outside City Hall” in response to the alleged cancellation – events that never took place.

This misinformation follows a pattern of similar fabricated content circulating online that portrays King Charles as directly intervening in political matters or engaging in public disputes with elected officials. Many of these videos appear to utilize AI-generated voiceovers to create a veneer of legitimacy.

Digital media experts warn that such content represents an increasingly sophisticated form of misinformation, designed to exploit public interest in the royal family while stoking political tensions. The realistic presentation, complete with convincing graphics and narration, can make these fabrications particularly difficult for casual viewers to identify as false.

The spread of such content highlights the ongoing challenges faced by social media platforms in moderating misleading information, especially as AI tools make creating convincing fake news increasingly accessible.

Media literacy advocates recommend that before sharing such content, users should verify information through multiple credible sources, particularly when claims involve major political figures or describe dramatic events that aren’t being reported by established news organizations.

This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of critical evaluation of online content, particularly videos making extraordinary claims about public figures that would likely receive widespread coverage if true.