Queen tests positive for Covid-19 Buckingham Palace confirms
Published: 12:05, 20 February 2022
Updated: 12:50, 20 February 2022
The Queen has tested positive for Covid-19.
Buckingham Palace says Her Majesty's has been experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor next week.
The 95-year-old had been in direct contact with her eldest son, the Prince of Wales, around the time he had the disease.
The Prince of Wales contracted coronavirus for a second time this month and had to self-isolate.
His condition was announced on February 10, just a week after he and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had completed a whistle-stop tour of Kent.
Charles, who first fell ill with Covid-19 in 2020, was said to be “deeply disappointed” to have to pull out of engagements in Winchester after a positive test earlier this month.
But four days ago he was well enough to visit Swansea and Newport in Wales.
The 73-year-old prince is triple vaccinated, and it was not known how much contact he'd had with The Queen recently.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled that laws requiring people in England with Covid-19 to self-isolate.
Aides said the prince was found to be positive during a routine test – which suggested he was experiencing no strong symptoms.
She is believed to have spent time with Charles on Tuesday February 8, when he hosted an investiture at her Windsor Castle home, before he tested positive a few days later.
The Duchess of Cornwall also tested positive for Covid, Clarence House confirmed last week, with a statement adding that the duchess was self isolating.
During a packed schedule, on Wednesday, February 2, the Royal couple's day in Kent included visits to the Sheerness Healthy Living Centre to meet staff and volunteers of Sheppey Matters.
They were met by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent Lady Colgrain and Sheppey Matters' chief executive officer Nigel Martin before meeting those behind the Community Chef food truck and the Sheppey Wheels community bus.
Prince Charles and Camilla also met a Syrian family who have settled on Sheppey thanks to help from the Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN) which won the 2022 Hans Albrecht Human Rights Award.
The Duchess of Cornwall then went on to visit Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, making her first visit to its Brands Hatch centre.
She arrived there at about 12.40pm and was greeted by members of staff and a doggy guard of honour.
Camilla then took a tour of the dog kennels and cattery before joining Battersea ambassador, Paul O’Grady MBE, on a brief woodland walk with a rescue dog which is yet to be rehomed.
Charles went on to Chatham Historic Dockyard, in Medway, and was the first to see the attraction's newest exhibition ahead of its opening to the public, and later Her Royal Highness paid a visit to The Guildhall Museum in Rochester to open 'The Making Of Mr Dickens'.
The new permanent exhibit tells the story of one of England’s finest and most celebrated writers and Medway resident, Charles Dickens.
The monarch's diagnosis comes just two weeks after she reached her historic Platinum Jubilee, celebrating 70 years on the throne on Sunday, February 6.
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Mary Graham