After the death of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday, there was no doubt that the monarch’s passing would cause a stir on the internet. 

But a bizarre meme arose from a strange coincidence on the day of the tragedy. At the exact same time as the Queen’s death, YouTuber Trisha Paytas reportedly gave birth to her baby – resulting in an impeccable timing coincidence that prompted Twitter users to call the newborn child the reincarnation of Queen Elizabeth.

Trisha Paytas, age 34, is a popular influencer with over 7 million followers on TikTok and 5 million subscribers on YouTube. Her content varies wildly, including makeup tutorials, music videos, and famous “crying on the floor” rants. Her loyal following has watched attentively as she vlogged her pregnancy over the past nine months.

Prior to the queen’s death, Paytas announced on Twitter that she was one centimeter dilated and that the baby was coming soon. Minutes later, a viral tweet read “Breaking News: Trisha Paytas gives birth to a girl 3 minutes after Queen Elizabeth passes away.”

The tweet instantly blew up, prompting thousands of tweets about Paytas’ seemingly miraculous baby. A viral tweet read “Queen Elizabeth is about to be reincarnated as Trisha Paytas’ baby and you’re laughing,” garnering over 630,000 likes in just a few hours. The rest of the internet was quick to hop on the trend, boosting “#TrishaPaytas” to second place on Twitter’s trending page, right beneath the death of the Queen herself.

However, Paytas quickly came forward and revealed that the news was a complete lie. In a TikTok video, she explained she had not given birth yet, and that she was “very much still pregnant” and expressed “deep condolences for the royal family.” Jacob Logan, the creator of the original viral tweet, revealed online that it was a “fake tweet” made to “start drama.” He added that he “deserves the credit” for his “hard work” on the trend.

Although the viral rumor ultimately turned out to be untrue, Paytas still had a sense of humor about the meme. In a video posted to her YouTube channel, she reassured her fans that she “isn’t really upset.” Sarcastically, Paytas added that “it finally feels like the troll of the internet got trolled.” In actuality, Patyas is expecting her child sometime within the next week.