In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II gave a speech in which she spoke about the role of scrutiny in public life:
“There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution - City, Monarchy, whatever, should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don’t.”
"But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one part of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of gentleness, good humour and understanding.”
"This sort of questioning can also act, and it should do so, as an effective engine for change."
—Queen Elizabeth II, 24 November 1992
Good, reliable information in public life matters. And this can only come from scrutiny and debate.
Bad information often spreads following a major news event. Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II we have seen a number of false claims circulating, some deliberately designed to confuse or mislead the public. You can read and share our fact checks below.
Usual Parliamentary business has paused this week. In recent days politicians of all parties have paid tribute to the Queen’s integrity.
On Monday I was due to appear before the House of Commons Procedure Committee to argue for MPs to show similar commitment to public life — with stronger rules requiring honesty and corrections from ministers and MPs.
When Parliament returns to normal business that is an argument Full Fact will take up with MPs once more.
Many have claimed that funerals, burials and cremations will be banned on Monday, but there is no formal requirement for this. Some operators may choose to close, however. The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management said they understand some funerals have been postponed as a result of this, but that the majority of funerals would go ahead as planned.
Many have been speculating about the cost of the Queen’s funeral, but there is no official estimate. Other royal funerals have cost up to about £8m in today’s money. The economic impact of an additional bank holiday could be billions of pounds.
A video circulating on social media supposedly shows the Queen throwing food at African children. But a reverse-image search shows the footage was filmed well before the Queen was born. It actually shows French women throwing coins to Vietnamese children.
A number of high profile Twitter accounts have shared an image supposedly showing Wetherspoons halting the sale of condoms for a ‘royal period of mourning’. But the sign is fake and they don’t sell condoms anyway.
You might have seen speculation online and in the media about the wealth of the Royal Family. In particular, claims that their ‘£73bn net worth’ might be better redistributed among the population. But this isn’t possible because part of that £73bn estimate includes intangible value, like tourism revenue created by the monarchy. As such, this could not be liquidated and redistributed as suggested.
Widely shared social media posts suggest that government plans to ban unions have been quietly proposed while the news is focused on coverage of the Queen. But the evidence for this is a digitally manipulated imagedesigned to look like the government website.
If you spot claims spreading on social media that you’re not sure about, take a look at our toolkit on how to identify bad information:
