Queen Elizabeth II has tested positive for COVID-19, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The monarch is experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms” and is expecting to continue performing light duties over the course of the week, according to a statement.
The Queen is based at Windsor Castle, west of London, where it is reported a number of people have tested positive. She had also been in contact with her eldest son, the Prince of Wales, who tested positive last week, as did his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.
This is thought to be the first time the Queen has suffered with the Coronavirus, although the Prince of Wales had it previously in Spring 2020. His son, the Duke of Cambridge, also had the virus around the same time. The BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said it could be taken as “absolutely certain” that the Queen is fully vaccinated, after receiving her first jab in January 2021.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the statement from Buckingham Palace continued.
The Queen, who is 95, celebrated the 70th anniversary of her reign on February 6. There are many plans for the public celebration of her Platinum Jubilee in June, although courtiers have been careful in moderating the monarch’s schedule, as she has suffered a number of health problems in recent months.
The Queen who has enjoyed a lifetime of robust good health, spent the night in hospital for medical checks in October 2021, since when she has been taking things slightly more easily for the first time in her long reign.
Today’sT medical announcement follows a tumultuous week for the British Royal Family. On Tuesday, it was announced that the Queen’s second son, the Duke of York, had agreed to pay an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Guiffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims who had alleged that she was trafficked for sexual activity with Prince Andrew back in 2001. While the settlement avoids the unseemly spectacle of a high-profile trial overshadowing the rest of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, the nature of the claims and fresh questions over exactly how the settlement was paid by the Duke of York have meant the story has not gone away as senior royals would have hoped.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales is embroiled in a police investigation into allegations that a Saudi businessman was offered a knighthood and British citizenship in exchange for big donations to the Prince’s charity. The Duke of Sussex has begun his High Court battle against the British Home Office, claiming he wasn’t permitted to pay for police protection for his family on visits to the UK. And the publishers of his memoir, for which he secured a multi-million dollar sum, have confirmed that the book will be released before the end of the year.