AI-made books with sick lies about King Charles' cancer prompt furious response from Palace threatening legal action
10 February 2024, 22:58 | Updated: 10 February 2024, 23:05
Sick AI books about the King's cancer diagnosis have been offered for sale on Amazon, sparking a furious response from Buckingham Palace.
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The Palace slated the sale of the "intrusive" and "insensitive" computer generated books that make fake claims about the King's cancer diagnosis, with royal lawyers looking into the publications.
Seven fake biographies were revealed by the Mail on Sunday as being sold by online giant Amazon.
The hoax biographies falsely claim to share exclusive revelations about the King and were listed alongside legitimate yoyal biographies.
Jeff Bezos' platform takes up to 65 per cent of the books' sale price.
The books, which breach reportedly breach Amazon guidelines, retailed for between £6.99 and £15.99 and included outrageous hoax claims such as:
- A description of the moment the King received his diagnosis - saying he felt "fear, anger and despair".
- Details of an operation removing a tumour inside the King and a description of his recovery.
- That the King has skin cancer, which Buckingham Palace has used as a "PR gambit".
- Claims that Charles has prostate cancer with a "moderate risk of spreading".
- A bogus claim of an undisclosed accident which hospitalised Charles months into his reign.
A furious Buckingham Palace spokesperson told the Mail on Sunday: "Any such titles speculating about His Majesty's diagnosis and treatment are intrusive, insensitive and filled with inaccuracies. Our legal team will be looking at the issue closely.
"We call on any individuals or organisations facilitating their sale to withdraw them immediately."
The news comes as Charles said he'd "like to express his most heartfelt thanks" for the many messages of support he's received in the past few days.
The King is having treatment as an outpatient for an undisclosed type of cancer, it was announced last week.
It is the first time that Charles has spoken publicly for the first time since the announcement of his cancer diagnosis as he thanked people for their "many messages of support and good wishes".
The monarch said it was "equally heartening" to hear how sharing his diagnosis has helped to promote public understanding of cancer.
In a message to the public, Charles said: "I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days.
Read More: King Charles doing 'extremely well' as he undergoes cancer treatment, Queen Camilla says
"As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.
"It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organisations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world.
"My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the King, who only acceded to the throne 17 months ago, does not have prostate cancer, saying only that he has a "form of cancer".
Read More: King and Fergie 'bond over battles with cancer' as Charles and Andrew's ex both fight the disease
He was diagnosed after a "separate issue of concern was noted" and was investigated while he was being treated for his benign enlarged prostate.
The Palace has called for the King's privacy to be respected, especially during his treatment, but said he wanted to make his diagnosis public because of his long-running support for cancer charities.
A host of medical professionals from different groups have commended the King's candour over his health.
Chiara De Biase, director of support and influencing at Prostate Cancer UK, highlighted a 500% increase in people coming to the charity's website for information and support in the week following the King's announcement of his enlarged prostate condition in January.
The 75-year-old King was seen in public for the first time since his cancer diagnosis on Tuesday as he left Clarence House the day after starting his treatment, following a brief reunion with the Duke of Sussex.
Charles has postponed all public-facing duties, but is continuing with behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers.
The Prince of Wales may step in to represent his father at an event, but no engagements are scheduled at the moment and the royal palaces will make arrangements if the need arises.
The King's illness coincided with a hospital stay by the Princess of Wales, who underwent planned abdominal surgery.
Earlier on Saturday, the Princess Royal attended the six nations match between Scotland and France.
Anne, who has been the patron of Scottish rugby since 1986, greeted players ahead of kick-off.
Scotland went on to lose 16-20 to France, despite dominating for much of the match.
An Amazon spokesman told the Mail on Sunday that the company invested 'significant time and resources' to ensure books published on its website followed its 'content guidelines'.
They added: 'We don't allow AI-generated content that violates our content guidelines, including content that creates a disappointing customer experience.'
'We have removed the titles we found that violated our guidelines.'
