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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2022 in a Facebook post: King Charles III signed “a proclamation stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and is the rightful president by law.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * Elections * Facebook Fact-checks * Facebook posts ![\\"King](\\" King Charles III signs an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland during the Accession Council at St James\'s Palace in London on Sept. 10, 2022. (AP) ![\\"Madison](\\" By Madison Czopek September 12, 2022 # King Charles III didn\'t declare Trump winner of the 2020 election #### If Your Time is short * When Queen Elizabeth II died Sept. 8, King Charles III ascended the throne. * Charles was formally proclaimed king at an accession ceremony Sept. 10. During that ceremony, he signed an oath to uphold the Church of Scotland. * There’s no evidence he issued a proclamation about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. See the sources for this fact-check As if losing his mother and ascending the throne wasn’t enough for one week, the United Kingdom’s newly proclaimed King Charles III also tried to rewrite U.S. history Sept. 10. At least, that’s what some social media users are falsely claiming. \"King Charles III signs a proclamation stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and is the rightful president by law,\" read one Sept. 11 Facebook post. It continued, saying that Charles warned President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris \"to vacate the premises within 48 hours\" or the U.K. would declare war on the U.S. The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The claim also spread on Twitter. ![](\\" (Screenshot from Facebook.) After 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II, 96, died peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Sept. 8, according to the royal family. Her eldest son, now King Charles III, ascended the throne upon her death. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 19, 2024 in in social media posts Videos show Kamala Harris intoxicated. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 22, 2024 He was formally proclaimed king on Sept. 10. The accession ceremony was a constitutional and ceremonial step that was broadcast live on television and online. As part of the ceremony, Charles read and signed an oath to uphold the Church of Scotland. The image shared on Facebook shows the king signing that oath. It does not show him signing a proclamation declaring former U.S. President Donald Trump the winner of the United States’ 2020 presidential election. Trump lost that election and there is no evidence it was because of widespread fraud. The results are clear: Biden won. There’s also no evidence Charles is declaring war on the U.S. As king, he is the only person in the U.K. with the power to declare war, but such a declaration would need approval from Parliament and the prime minister. Our ruling A Facebook post claimed King Charles III signed \"a proclamation stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election\" and planned to declare war on the U.S. if Biden did not step aside. That’s a fabrication. At a ceremony on Sept. 10, Charles signed an oath stating that he would uphold the Church of Scotland. He took no action related to the 2020 U.S. election nor did he threaten war of any kind. We rate this claim Pants on Fire. **RELATED:** The facts of a fair US election have only gotten stronger since Capitol attack #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Facebook post, Sept. 11, 2022 Tweet, Sept. 10, 2022 The Washington Post, \"Charles formally proclaimed king as princes William and Harry reunite,\" Sept. 10, 2022 The royal family’s tweet, Sept. 8, 2022 The Washington Post, \"Here’s what we know about the queen’s health,\" Sept. 8, 2022 The Guardian, \"King Charles signals to aide to remove pens during signing of oath – video,\" Sept. 10, 2022 CNBC, \"King Charles spent decades preparing for the throne. His reign promises to be unlike his mother’s,\" Sept. 10, 2022 NBC News, \"King Charles III ascends to the throne at 73 years old,\" Sept. 9, 2022 Associated Press, \"Charles is proclaimed king; sons unite to thank the public,\" Sept. 10, 2022 Sky News, \"In full: King Charles III\'s Accession ceremony,\" Sept. 10, 2022 Business Insider, \"9 things Queen Elizabeth II actually has the power to do,\" June 25, 2018 PolitiFact, \"Claims that the 2020 election was stolen are still false,\" May 4, 2022 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Madison Czopek ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Travis Kelce responding to Elon Musk X post that followed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 3, 2024 in a video posted on X: On June 7, 2011, Kamala Harris was involved in a San Francisco hit-and-run crash that injured a woman named Alicia Brown. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 29, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “BREAKING: Illegal Aliens in San Diego, California, tried to hijack 2 school buses filled with children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “There’s no such thing as menopause.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 24, 2024 in an Instagram post: World Economic Forum “document confirms 6 billion humans will die in 2025.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bob Casey stated on August 22, 2024 in a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention: “Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive them up.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 16, 2024 in a post on X: “Kamala Harris wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 22, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 4, 2024 in an Instagram post: “The NFL will now use facial recognition at every stadium to verify the identity of everyone at the game.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 12, 2024 in a post on Facebook: Dr. Leo Ferreira, a cancer researcher shown in a video clip, was on the plane that crashed in Brazil on Aug. 9. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jesse Watters stated on August 6, 2024 in a segment on \"Jesse Watters Primetime\": Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “forced schools to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 13, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 11, 2024 in a post on Truth Social: Photo of Kamala Harris’ Aug. 7 rally near Detroit was AI-generated and “there was nobody there.” Attendees pictured “didn’t exist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 27, 2024 in a post on X: Video shows that “JD Vance endorses Project 2025.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 22, 2024 in a post on X: The death of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, six days after the Trump rally shooting was linked to her “oversight of the Secret Service.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 24, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 21, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “The state of Washington has already sent out their ballots” for the 2024 presidential election. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 14, 2024 in an Instagram post: A Secret Service agent named Jonathan Willis said he “had the assassin in his sights for 3 minutes, but he was told not to engage by the head of the (Secret Service) unit.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 15, 2024 ### King Charles III didn\'t declare Trump winner of the 2020 election * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Travis Kelce responding to Elon Musk X post that followed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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King Charles III signed a proclamation stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and is the rightful president by law