The Queen is being closely monitored and faces days of Covid tests after it was revealed she met Prince Charles just two days before he tested positive for coronavirus.
Buckingham Palace tonight refused to confirm whether the 95-year-old monarch had tested positive or negative, fuelling fears for her health, but palace sources insisted she was not displaying symptoms of the virus.
Palace doctors will now test the Queen frequently after she saw her son at her Windsor Castle home on Tuesday, it is understood.
The Prince of Wales, 73, is self isolating at home after testing positive after a routine test this morning, forcing him to pull out of a joint engagement in Winchester with wife Camilla.
Aides confirmed the future king was “not experiencing strong symptoms”, but the Duchess of Cornwall revealed he was finding the situation “a bit tiresome”.
It is the second time the heir to the throne has contracted the virus, first doing so in March 2020 when he had mild symptoms and lost his sense of smell and taste.
Riding solo for a series of meetings today Camilla said she was feeling “lucky” to have not caught the virus.
The Queen has been triple-vaccinated so will not need to self isolate, unless she tests positive.
She received her first jab in January 2021 and her second jab in March while sources say it is believed she got her booster jab in October.
Buckingham Palace aides said they would not comment on the Queen’s personal health, but a palace source said “obviously the situation will be closely monitored”.
The Queen is understood to be “feeling much better” recently after regaining her health after a torrid few months.
She was forced to spend the night in hospital in October after receiving treatment for an unexplained condition.
Doctors ordered her to take a period of rest after she completed a relentless schedule of 19 engagements in as many days.
The monarch then missed the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London in November after spraining her back.
Throughout the pandemic, the Queen has largely been shielded by a ring of steel dubbed ‘HMS Bubble’, whereby 22 royal staff sacrificed their home lives to stay isolated at Windsor Castle so they could serve the Queen and her late husband Prince Philip during lockdown.
A year later, in April 2021, strict Covid regulations meant the Queen was forced to wear a mask and sit alone as she attended husband Prince Philip’s funeral.
In recent weeks she has been enjoying her freedom after making a trip to Sandringham, her Norfolk estate, to mark the anniversary of her father’s death and dau of her accession to the throne on Feb 6.
The Queen was out and about on public duties on Saturday, the eve of her record-breaking Platinum jubilee, meeting charity workers at Sandringham House - her first major public appearance in more than three months.
A source close to the Queen tonight said she was “not experiencing any symptoms” but her contact with Charles was “recently enough to be relevant”.
The prince went to see his mother on Tuesday at Windsor Castle after awarding OBEs to chefs Fergus Henderson, who has Parkinson’s Disease, and his wife Margot as well as an MBE to Dr Nisreen Alwan, who is known for campaigning for more awareness around long covid.
On Wednesday evening he attended with Camilla a reception for the British Asian Trust with 350 guests, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Priti Patel at the British Museum in London on Wednesday evening.
The heir can be released from his isolation if he tests negative on day 5 and day 6 and does not have a temperature.
The triple-vaccinated prince was said to be “deeply disappointed” to have to pull out of engagements in Winchester after his positive test on Thursday.
When he contracted covid for the first time last March he said he ”got away with it quite lightly” before spending seven days in self-isolation at his Birkhall home in Scotland before resuming his duties.
Downing Street said Prime Minister Boris Johnson wished the prince a “speedy recovery”.
On a solo visit to the Thames Valley Partnership in Buckinghamshire, Camilla said she was lucky not to be positive herself.
Speaking to Willie Hartley Russell, high sheriff for Berkshire, during the visit today, she said: “He’s diagnosed now. Luckily (she’s negative). I’ve taken it so many times.”
Mr Hartley Russell said: “It gets a bit pointless, doesn’t it?” and Camilla agreed.
Speaking afterwards, he added: “She said, ‘Yes, unfortunately he had tested positive again. I said he must be building up lots of antibodies.
“She said something like he’s finding it a bit tiresome to have got it again, but she said it in a light-hearted way.”
Earlier in the day, Camilla spoke for the first time to reveal her delight at the Queen’s statement on Saturday that it was her “sincere wish” that the Duchess of Cornwall be made ‘Queen Consort’ when Charles takes the throne.
On a visit to the Nourish Hub community food centre in West London, Camilla was asked about how she feels about her future title.
And in reply she said she was “very, very honoured” and “very touched” to receive the Queen’s backing to be a future Queen Consort.
