Vishvas News in its investigation found that the viral claim is false. Viral photo is edited. In the original picture, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was knighting English actor Simon Russell Beale, not a cat.
New Delhi (Vishvas News). In a picture viral on social media, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth can be seen conferring knighthood on a cat. The post is claiming that Queen Elizabeth II knighted a cat named Reuben. Vishvas News found in its investigation that the viral claim is false. The viral photo is edited. In the original picture, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was knighting English actor Simon Russell Beale.
In the viral picture, Queen Elizabeth can be seen conferring a knighthood on a cat. The description accompanying the post read: “#RubenTheCat “I am very proud to finally announce that I have become the first cat to be awarded honors by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Love, Sir Ruben J. Cat, KBE”
Vishvas News also found this claim on its fact-checking WhatsApp chatbot (+91 95992 99372) for fact checking.
The archive link of the viral post can be seen here.
To begin our investigation, we first searched this image on Google reverse image. We found this image at paimages.co.uk. But here there was no cat but a person. According to the accompanying description “Sir Simon Russell Beale is made a Knight Bachelor of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday October 10, 2019. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire.”
We found this picture with the same man and same description at alamy.com also.
We also found this photo in a news report of belfasttelegraph.co.uk also.
We have contacted the British Royal Family’s media office by mail for confirmation. This news will be updated as soon as the answer comes.
The post was shared by Facebook user Chandrima Chatterjee. The user is from Kolkata and has 170 followers.
Conclusion: Vishvas News in its investigation found that the viral claim is false. Viral photo is edited. In the original picture, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was knighting English actor Simon Russell Beale, not a cat.
Knowing the truth is your right. If you have a doubt on any news that could impact you, society or the nation, let us know. You can share your doubts and send you news for fact verification on our mail ID contact@vishvasnews.com or whatsapp us on 9205270923