The Queen has tested positive for Covid, and is experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms” but expects to continue “light duties” at Windsor over the coming week.
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Queen Elizabeth II is The United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch. She was married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, for over 73 years until his death at the age of 99 in April 2021. The couple shared four children, including Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, who is next in line to the throne.
With planning for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee underway for June 2022, the 95-year-old monarch continues to stay out of the spotlight for the most part.
“We understand the monarch very much wants to get back to work, but I think it’s going to be a case of making sure she really has made a full and complete recovery before courtiers start packing up her busy work schedule,” royal expert Katie Nicholl has said.
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Prior to the New Year, Queen Elizabeth gave her annual Christmas Day broadcast from Windsor Castle for the second year in a row, foregoing her annual holiday tradition of traveling to her Sandringham Estate.
It’s been a difficult few months for Her Highness, as she has canceled several events and trips due to her health. Back in October, she spent a night in the hospital for observations and tests, and in November, she missed the annual Remembrance Day service after spraining her back.
Due to the widespread coronavirus omicron variant, the queen additionally canceled her family’s annual pre-Christmas lunch and opted for significantly scaled down holiday plans.
Nicholl noted that this “is essentially a really important year for the queen.”
“This is a Platinum Jubilee year — this June, she will celebrate 70 years on the throne,” she said. “And yet there are storm clouds which do seem to be threatening to overshadow what should be a year of celebration for the queen.”
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