Nostradamus Didn't Predict That Queen Elizabeth II Would Die In 2022

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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves after the funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP)

By Gabrielle Settles September 20, 2022

If Your Time is short

• Nostradamus, a French astrologer in the 1500s, did not mention Queen Elizabeth II in his writing. The prediction about her death is based on an interpretation of Nostradamus’ writing by author Mario Reading.

See the sources for this fact-check

Nostradamus was a French astrologer who lived in the 1500s. But his book, "Les Prophéties," has transcended time and is often credited with predicting historical events — including the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

A Sept. 15 Facebook video said Nostradamus "accurately predicted Queen Elizabeth II’s passing." 

"When Queen Elizabeth passed away on Sept. 8, just a day later Nostradamus’ predictions of her passing resurfaced," a narrator in the video said. 

The video was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

We reviewed an English translation of Les Prophiétes, but found no direct reference to the death of any queen.

Instead, the prediction came from author Mario Reading’s 2005 book, "Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies for the Future." The book says Reading, who lived in England, Germany and the South of France and died in 2017, drew the prediction about the queen’s death from Nostradamus’ passage that read: 

"Because they disapproved of his divorce

A man, who, later, they considered unworthy

The people will force out the King of the Islands

A man will replace him who never expected to be king."

Our ruling

A Facebook video says Nostradamus "accurately predicted Queen Elizabeth II’s passing." 

Nostradamus’s writing did not include a reference to a queen. The prediction came from another author’s interpretation of the philosopher’s writing.

We rate this claim False.  

Read About Our Process

The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter

Facebook video, Sept. 16, 2022

Snopes, Did Nostradamus Predict Charles Would Abdicate, Leave Harry the Throne? Sept. 15, 2022

Wales Online, Nostradamus book ‘largely came true’ claimed author who correctly predicted the Queen's death, Sept. 14, 2022

The Compleat Works of Nostradamus, accessed Sept. 20, 2022

Google Books, Nostradamus: The Complete Prophesies for the Future, accessed Sept. 20, 2022

Amazon, Mario Reading, accessed Sept. 20, 2022

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