Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID; mild symptoms

Buckingham Palace reported that Queen Elizabeth II was positive for COVID-19 and is currently experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms.

Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID; mild symptoms

She plans to continue working. Concern and well wishes came from all parts of Britain for the 95-year old, who is known for being a stoic individual.

The longest-reigning monarch of Britain and an integral part of the national life, the queen was 70 years in office on February 6, the anniversary the 1952 death her father, King George VI. On April 21, she will be 96.

According to the palace, the queen has been fully vaccinated with a booster shot and will continue her duties at Windsor Castle in the next week.

The palace released a statement saying that "She will continue receiving medical attention and will comply with all the relevant guidelines."

The U.K. government has announced that people who have tested positive for COVID-19 will now be required to self-isolate at least for five days. However, the British government claims it plans on lifting this requirement for England next week.

The queen's oldest son Prince Charles and her 74 year-old daughter-in law Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall both contracted COVID-19 earlier in the month. Charles has since been back at work. Staff at Windsor Castle, where she is currently staying, are believed to have been infected with a virus.

Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, stated that the queen would likely receive one of the antiviral drugs approved in the U.K. for COVID-19.

He said, "If you get them early enough it reduces the risk of severe diseases developing. So I would imagine that any doctor would consider giving these antivirals to a patient in their 90s."

On Sunday, a host of high-ranking British politicians sent get well messages. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, tweeted: "I'm sure that I speak for all who wish Her Majesty the Queen a quick recovery from COVID as well as a return to vibrant good-health."

Sajid Javid, Health Secretary, wrote that he "Wishes Her Majesty the Queen a quick recovery." Keir Starmer, opposition Labour Party leader, wished the queen "good and speedy health." Ma'am, get well soon!

Elizabeth has been in good health throughout her reign. She was photographed riding a horse as recently 2020. She walked with a walkingstick in the last year. In October, she spent a night at a London hospital to undergo unspecified tests.

After that, the queen was ordered to rest by her doctors. She was then forced to cancel several important events including Remembrance Sunday and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November.

She has been back to public duties this month and has had audiences with politicians, diplomats and military leaders both in person and virtually. One exchange last week was captured on camera. She walked slowly with a stick, and she said "as I can see, I can't move" in reference to her leg.

Two televised messages were delivered by the queen to the nation in the early stages of the 2020 pandemic. She has continued to set an example and have been a role model. It was made public that she was vaccinated. She sat by herself at the funeral of Prince Philip last year, due to coronavirus restrictions.

Majesty magazine managing editor Joe Little said that members of the royal family are more concerned about the queen's situation than the queen.

He said, "I would assume that she will be matter of fact about the diagnosis in such a way that perhaps the people around her tend to be less matter-of–fact."

The Queen has a busy schedule for the next few months of her Platinum Jubilee Year. She is scheduled to attend several in-person public engagements over the coming weeks. These include a diplomatic reception at Windsor on February 2 and the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey March 14.

She will hold a remembrance ceremony at Westminster Abbey on March 29 for Philip, who died at 99 in April 2021.

The public celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee will take place over a long weekend from June 2-5. There will be festivities that include a military parade and a day of horseracing.

The queen is the latest monarch to be infected by COVID-19. The illness was first detected in February by Queen Margrethe of Denmark (82), and Spain's King Felipe VI (54). Both had mild symptoms.

After a difficult week for Britain’s royal family, her diagnosis came.

The second son of the queen, Prince Andrew settled the U.S. lawsuit brought to him by a woman who claimed that he had abused her while she was 17, when she was traveling with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and sex offender. Andrew vigorously denied Virginia Giuffre's claim. In a settlement, he agreed to make a significant donation to the charity of his accuser.

London's Metropolitan Police opened an investigation on Wednesday into allegations that Prince Charles charities had offered to help a billionaire Saudi get citizenship and honors in exchange for donations.