Conspiracy about King Charles's bodyguards using fake hands spreads on TikTok

Queen Elizabeth II's funeral took place on Monday, but some people are fixated on bizarre new conspiracy theory on social media which says King Charles III's bodyguards are using fake hands.

Viewers on TikTok apparently believe the bodyguards are placing prosthetic arms in their sleeves before placing their real hands on concealed weapons inside their suits.

Jason, who goes by @jase_the_ace on the platform, shared a video of the King and his bodyguards outside chatting with people outside Buckingham Palace.

The video zeroed in on the hands of the guards.

"King Charles security... Do some have fake arms, hands on guns?" the onscreen text reads.

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This is done (apparently) so they can hold a gun in the event they need to whip it out and take care of any potential assassins.

While private bodyguards in the UK are not allowed to carry weapons, King Charles' bodyguards are - so it's unclear what the truth is.

One person wrote: "Open jacket means security. You can tell by his facial and eye movement."

"They have [their] hand on their gun just in case," another added.

A third wrote: "Not like[they're] gonna walk round holding their gun where everyone can see them holding it. It would make people feel anxious."

Someone else joked: "Imagine if the arm fell off."

However some didn't believe that the arms are fake.

"What a silly analysis, lol," one added while another wrote: "Ur reaching."

Guards are known to use many different methods to keep attackers at bay.

These claims about faux arms most recently occurred in 2017 after former President Donald Trump's Secret Service bodyguard was seen oddly holding his little finger.

Reuters said claims the arms were false were untrue in a subsequent fact check.

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