The Queen has contracted Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The monarch, 95, has tested positive for the virus and is experiencing 'mild cold-like symptoms' but expects to carry out 'light duties' this week.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “Buckingham Palace confirm that The Queen has today tested positive for Covid.
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“Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines."
The head of state has fallen ill after it was confirmed she had been in direct contact with her eldest son and heir, the Prince of Wales, the week he tested positive for Covid.
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The announcement was made just a few weeks after the nation’s longest-reigning monarch reached her historic Platinum Jubilee of 70 years on the throne on February 6.
Concern across the nation will be at peak levels for the Queen, given her advanced age and her health scare in recent months, and her popularity in a country where many have known no other monarch on the throne.
The Royal Household has its own royal physicians and the Queen’s doctors will be on hand to take care of and monitor the head of state, with Professor Sir Huw Thomas, head of the Medical Household and Physician to the Queen, expected to be in charge.
The monarch carried out her first major public engagement for more than three months on February 5, the eve of her Jubilee, when she met charity workers at Sandringham House, cut a celebratory cake and used a walking stick to rest on.
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The Queen is understood to be triple vaccinated but she had been on doctors’ orders to rest since mid October, after cancelling a run of engagements and spending a night in hospital undergoing preliminary tests.
She is believed to have spent time with Charles on February 8, when he hosted an investiture at her Windsor Castle home, and a few days later he tested positive for Covid but made a quick recovery to full health.
The Duchess of Cornwall has also tested positive for Covid, with Clarence House confirming on February 14 that the duchess was self isolating.
In terms of upcoming self-isolation regulations, Covid-19 restrictions in England are set to be removed next week as Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be introducing his 'Living with Covid plan'.
Ahead of his new plan, Johnson said: “Covid will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.
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"We’ve built up strong protections against this virus over the past two years through the vaccine rollouts, tests, new treatments, and the best scientific understanding of what this virus can do.
“Thanks to our successful vaccination programme and the sheer magnitude of people who have come forward to be jabbed we are now in a position to set out our plan for living with Covid this week.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: The Queen, Coronavirus