Focusing on her recovery. Queen Elizabeth II canceled her scheduled meetings for Tuesday, February 22, following her recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
“As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. Though the queen, 95, has continued to work in the days since she tested positive for COVID, she reportedly was not feeling well enough to attend the virtual meetings she had planned for the day.
Since testing positive for COVID, the sovereign has been “experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week,” Buckingham Palace announced in a statement to Us Weekly on Sunday, February 20. “She will continue to receive medical attention and follow guidelines.”
Earlier this month, Us confirmed that Her Majesty was “being monitored” after Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles both tested positive. She showed no symptoms at the time. The Prince of Wales, 73, had previously battled COVID in March 2020, before contracting the illness once more.
“This morning The Prince of Wales has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now self-isolating,” Clarence House said in a statement on February 10. “HRH is deeply disappointed not to be able to attend today’s events in Winchester and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible.”
Four days later, the Duchess of Cornwall, 74, also tested positive and was “self-isolating” following the news.
All three members of the royal family have been vaccinated against the illness. “[The shot] was very quick, and I’ve had lots of letters from people who have been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine,” Her Majesty recalled during a February 2021 virtual meeting with U.K. health officials, per The Guardian. “And the jab — it didn’t hurt at all.”
She continued: “Once you’ve had the vaccine, you have a feeling of, you know, you’re protected, which is I think very important. I think the other thing is, that it is obviously difficult for people if they’ve never had a vaccine … but they ought to think about other people rather than themselves. I think it is remarkable how quickly the whole thing has been done and so many people have had the vaccine already.”
Queen Elizabeth received the first dose of the vaccine alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, in January 2021. (The prince consort died in April 2021 at the age of 99).
The long-reigning monarch celebrated her Platinum Jubilee earlier this month, 70 years after her February 1952 ascension. The milestone made Elizabeth the longest-ruling royal in the world and a four-day Platinum Celebration will take place in June to commemorate the occasion.
“As I look ahead with a sense of hope and optimism to the year of my Platinum Jubilee, I am reminded of how much we can be thankful for,” she said in a statement on February 5. “These last seven decades have seen extraordinary progress socially, technologically and culturally that have benefitted us all; and I am confident that the future will offer similar opportunities to us and especially to the younger generations in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth.”
