In February 2026, social media users shared a rumor claiming U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, should pardon the
The purported post read, "The arrest of Prince Andrew is an unimaginable mistake. Queen Elizabeth should pardon her own son. I would pardon my own kids if they ever needed it."
The rumor followed the Feb. 19 arrest of the ex-prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. His arrest was related to his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Associated Press reported police previously said they were assessing reports he sent trade information to Epstein in 2010 while serving as Britain's special envoy for international trade. King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor, who is his brother, of his royal titles and evicted him from his royal residence in November 2025.
Users shared the screenshot of Trump's alleged Truth Social post on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived) and X (archived). Many commenters seemed to believe the post truly originated from Trump's account.
(@actuallystevenweber/Threads)
In short, the alleged post was fabricated and originated from a Facebook page whose owners described its content as satire and parody. The image also featured a watermark identifying it as satire.
Digging into the rumor
The fake Trump post screenshot included three watermarks reading "@Mrs. Putin Satire," confirming it originated (archived) with the satirical Mrs. Putin Facebook page.
(Mrs. Putin/Facebook)
The Mrs. Putin Facebook page is labeled under the "Satire/Parody" category and features a fake profile image depicting Trump's face on Elizabeth's body. The page's bio further clarifies its intent, saying it's for "a fictional character based on a selfish crook who inadvertently found wealth and power."
The screenshot itself also contains several obvious satirical markers that confirm it's fabricated. The user who created the fake post displayed Trump's name and handle as "Donald J. Turmp" and "@realDotardTurmp." The post's number of likes showed the word "disLikes," as well as the date and time of "Feb. 20, 22026" at "13:62 AM." The heart-shaped "like" button also displayed the word "satire."
In Trump's genuine response to the news of Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, he said, in part, "I think it's a shame. I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the royal family. It's very, very sad to me. It's a very sad thing. When I see that it's a very sad thing."
For further reading, we previously reported about a rumor claiming Mountbatten-Windsor said in 2008, "We're not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.