Queen Elizabeth II has tested positive for COVID-19, Buckingham Palace announced over the weekend. A statement released by the palace said the British monarch would continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle over the next few weeks.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the palace said in a statement, adding that she has so far experienced mild, cold-like symptoms.
Rumours are spreading as to how the 95-year-old monarch, who lives within the protective “HMS bubble” contracted the virus, though some commentators believe she might have contracted it during a meeting with her son and heir, Prince Charles on February 8, who tested positive to the virus two days later.
The BBC have reported a number of people have tested positive at Windsor Castle in the past month, including the Queen’s daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as staff, advisors and aides.
The Queen, who turns 96 on April 21, is believed to have had three vaccines already.
The BBC’s royal commentator Jonny Dymond, said the palace has been “strict all the way through in following the government’s guidelines and keeping the Queen away from other people while the pandemic has been active.”
“She’s been doing engagements over video calls but we haven’t seen her doing engagements with the public,” he told the ABC.
People in Britain who test positive to COVID-19 are required to self-isolate for a minimum of five days, though plans have been announced to lift that requirement in the next few weeks.
British politicians have sent get-well messages to The Queen since news of her contraction went public.
“I’m sure I speak for everyone in wishing Her Majesty The Queen a swift recovery from COVID and a rapid return to vibrant good health,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted.
Last year, the Queen was ordered by her doctors to lay low and rest, forcing her to cancel appearances at public events, including Remembrance Sunday services and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in November.
As Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, she made history on February 6, reaching a milestone of 70 years on the throne.