Dhaka: The BBC apologised on Wednesday after an obituary rehearsal saw a journalist erroneously post a Twitter message saying Britain’s Queen Elizabeth had been rushed to hospital, reports France 24.

The 89-year-old monarch, who will become the country’s longest serving sovereign in September, had in fact briefly attended London’s King Edward VII Hospital for her annual health check-up, Buckingham Palace said, seeking to end speculation on the queen’s health, reports Reuters.

‘This was a routine, pre-scheduled appointment. The queen has now left the hospital,’ a spokeswoman said. The palace does not normally comment on the queen’s check-ups.

The BBC later apologised, saying the mistake occurred during an exercise it described as a ‘technical rehearsal for an obituary’.

‘The tweets were swiftly deleted and we apologise for any offence,’ it said in a statement.

The journalist whose tweet triggered the media frenzy also apologised, though she described the incident as the result of a ‘silly prank’.

The queen has cut back her public duties in recent years with heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles taking on more official roles. However, she attended parliament for its official state opening last week and has an engagement later on Wednesday at Buckingham Palace.

The British monarch was taken to hospital in March 2013 with symptoms of gastroenteritis. It was the first time she had needed hospital treatment in a decade.