Claim:
A video authentically showed King Charles III speaking about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb nuclear sites in Iran.
Rating:
Context
Though the video used authentic visuals, including a short clip of King Charles III’s address after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we found no evidence that Charles actually said the words in the alleged speech.
In June 2025, following U.S. strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, a video (archived) circulated online claiming to authentically show King Charles III speaking about President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb the sites.
Charles allegedly said:
When Donald Trump says Iran can be erased, when generals whisper of bunker busters and tactical firepower, and when Israel’s skies glow with the sparks of retaliation, I do not stay silent. I will not let the world be dragged into chaos by those who speak louder than they think. Mr. Trump, this is not a game of missiles, this is the fate of millions. And to those who cheer from the sidelines, know this: Every threat you make echoes far beyond your borders, and every move you make pulls this world closer to a fire. We may not survive, but Britain — Britain knows war. We’ve stood at the edge of destruction before, and we did not flinch. We’ve seen bombs fall, cities burn, kings flee but we never bowed. Now, once again, the world teeters and I say: We will not be dragged by ego; we will not follow fury. But if forced to rise, we will rise with fire in our chest and steel in our voice. To my people: Stand tall. To the world: Look to Britain not for war but for wisdom.
The video also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and YouTube (archived). Snopes readers emailed us and searched our site asking whether the video and speech were real.
However, though the video did use genuine (meaning not generated by artificial intelligence) visuals, we found no evidence that Charles ever delivered the speech featured in the video. The speech was not featured on the royal family’s official website or social media accounts, nor did we find it replicated in any credible news reports (archived, archived, archived, archived). We reached out to Buckingham Palace about the speech and await a reply.
Reverse image searches on visuals from the video turned up genuine results. For example, the beginning video showing Charles was a cropped and darkened version of his first address as monarch on Sept. 9, 2022. The cropped version showed Charles in an identical black suit and tie with a bouquet of white flowers to his right. Parts of the backdrop from the September 2022 address also remained visible in the video circulating in June 2025.
Above: Charles speaking on Sept. 9, 2022. Below: Screenshot from June 2025 video. (NBC News/Instagram user @resist45ideology/Snopes illustration)
The video also featured several genuine photos of Trump, including with the British politician Nigel Farage and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as media photos of Trump in previous years.
As for the speech itself, we found no evidence Charles actually delivered it. Hiya, a deepfake audio detector, found clips from the beginning, middle and end of the speech highly likely to be generated by AI.
(Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector/Snopes Illustration)
Additionally, the royal family is supposed to remain politically impartial under the U.K.’s constitutional monarchy, leaving legislative power in the hands of the elected Parliament. Though some royals have formerly spoken out on political topics in spite of this, there was no evidence Charles did so in this particular context.
Sources
King Charles Iran Speech – Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=de7b93cea84487c6&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB1138GB1138&q=king+charles+iran+speech&tbm=nws&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEreERTNAkkP8Y6EXltYTGWsMugWKFwB5jy1UzGLCowm_WWLo1mbns_EporOczhi1vXiW7SAwJ65dDA4dzKdz-riSBiH349YJFbG2wDMuB6rJZG3yT3j7Ok6gIgPaa0PR1nY7FjM&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEnM3ozIeOAxUqWUEAHQE_KkYQ0pQJKAF6BAgaEAE&biw=1470&bih=712&dpr=2. Accessed 23 June 2025.
King Charles Iran Speech – Search News. https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=king+charles+iran+speech&FORM=HDRSC7. Accessed 23 June 2025.
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