Did Queen Elizabeth congratulate Marcos for 2022 election victory?

Britain's Queen Elizabeth visits HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead of the ship's maiden deployment at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, Britain on May 22, 2021. (Steve Parsons/PA Wire/Pool via Reuters)

CLAIM: British Queen Elizabeth II supposedly congratulated former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who is leading in the partial and unofficial count of the 2022 presidential elections.

Some of the presumptive president-elect’s supporters are sharing quote cards on Facebook and expressing their gratitude to the monarch for addressing the former.

It features a photo of the queen smiling with the following words:

“Today, I wear red to express my congratulations to the Philippines’ President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. I know he is a good leader. Unfortunately, the oligarchs are destroying his name, and the citizens are just keep complaining.” 

“Therefore, I can say, Philippines doesn’t have the worse governance. It has the worst citizens.” 

(Screengrab by Interaksyon from Facebook)

A video version of this can also be seen on YouTube.

RATING: This is fake.

Facts

There are no reports saying that Queen Elizabeth II congratulated Marcos.

Recent reports reveal that the queen skipped the opening of the Parliament due to “episodic mobility problems” and has delegated the responsibility to her son and heir, Prince Charles.

There is also no website with the name “horbpQuirer.net” nor an entity named “HORBP Files.”

However, there is a media outlet called Inquirer.net and a fact-checking organization called VERA Files.

Both of them do not have reports about the monarch congratulating Marcos or giving him a message following the 2022 elections.

On the other hand, HORBP could be an acronym for “House of Representa-thieves: Butasang pambulsa,” a Facebook page and group uploading memes and satire posts related to the Philippine government and officials.

A fake quote card that was attributed to the HORBP page also circulated before.

It featured a supposed princess of Saudi Arabia, Ameera Naser Khalifa, endorsing Marcos. It was a satire post and the personality was actually former adult star Mia Khalifa.

Meanwhile, the photo of Queen Elizabeth that was used on the congratulatory message appeared in a 2021 Vanity Fair article credited to Steve Parsons of Getty Images.

The report said that the queen had paid tribute to her late husband, Prince Philip, during a visit to the company of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

“For the occasion, the Queen wore a vibrant red hat and coat adorned with her ‘Scarab’ brooch, an homage to Philip who was also a naval veteran,” it noted.

Why it matters 

Facebook posts featuring the fake quote card have been circulating through personal social media accounts and on pages like “Solid BBM supporters,” which has 20,896 likes and 21,356 followers.

(Screengrab by Interaksyon from Facebook)

The post has earned 1,100 likes and reactions and over 400 shares as of this writing.

Other Filipinos have also been agreeing with the monarch through the comments despite it being fake.

“Thank you your honor queen Elizabeth you’re so kind and understand what the situation of our country so many years we live hardships because of the oligarch Ang those yellow evils I salute you ma’am your honor,” a Facebook user said.

This story is part of the Philippine Fact-check Incubator, an Internews initiative to build the fact-checking capacity of news organizations in the Philippines and encourage participation in global fact-checking efforts.

Interaksyon is part of #FactsFirstPH, a multi-sectoral initiative promoting truth in public space and demanding accountability for falsehoods. For those interested to join the initiative, email 

Interaksyon is also a founding partner of Tsek.ph, a collaborative fact-checking project for the 2022 Philippine elections. It is an initiative of academe, civil society groups and media to counter disinformation and provide the public with verified information.

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