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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jennifer Newton

Queen carries out her first official engagement since Covid-19 scare

The Queen has carried out her first official engagements since she faced a Covid scare.

Her son Prince Charles and daughter-in-law Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, both have the virus and saw the Monarch "shortly" before testing positive.

However, the 95-year-old monarch held virtual audiences from Windsor Castle today.

She was pictured greeting the Estonian ambassador, who spoke to the monarch via video-link from Buckingham Palace.

Her Majesty also spoke to Jose Pascual Marco Martinez, the ambassador from Spain.

The Queen could be seen on screen in her Oak Room sitting room at Windsor Castle wearing a floral dress.

It is also the first time the Queen has been photographed, albeit on a screen, since she reached her historic Platinum Jubilee milestone, and endorsed Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when Charles becomes King.

The Queen pictured today at Windsor Castle during a virtual audience with the ambassador of Estonia, Viljar Lubi (PA)

Last week, Buckingham Palace refused to confirm whether the Queen had tested positive or negative after her meeting with Charles, fuelling fears for her health.

Palace sources insisted she was not displaying symptoms of the virus but added her contact with Charles was “recently enough to be relevant”.

However, the Queen has been triple-vaccinated - 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.

The Estonian ambassador Viljar Lubi greets the Queen during a virtual audience (PA)

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Charles tested positive for Covid last Thursday, just two days after he met with his mother at Windsor Castle after carrying out an investiture ceremony.

Yesterday, it was also revealed that Camilla had tested positive for the virus and was self isolating.

The duchess carried out a string of engagements last Thursday – the day Charles tested positive for a second time.

The Queen receives the ambassador of Spain, José Pascual Marco Martínez, during a virtual audience (PA)

Camilla described herself as “luckily” negative the same day, saying of her testing regime during a visit to Thames Valley Partnership in Buckinghamshire: “I’ve taken it so many times”.

On that day, Charles, 73, had been expected to visit Winchester but had to cancel at the last minute.

Aides said the prince was found to be positive during a routine test – which suggested he was experiencing no strong symptoms – but they declined to go into further details on his medical condition.

The Queen with son Charles and daughter-in-law Camilla (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, 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.

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