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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Robert Jobson and Josh Salisbury

Prince Charles tests positive for Covid for second time

The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time and is now self-isolating, Clarence House has said on Twitter.

In a statement, Clarence House said: “This morning The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating.

“HRH is deeply disappointed not to be able to attend today's events in Winchester and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible.”

His latest positive test comes after he attended a black tie event held by the British Asian Trust at the British Museum on Wednesday night.

He gave a speech at the event to around 350 guests, which included Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

A Palace source also said Charles recently met with the Queen, but the monarch is not displaying any symptoms.

The situation will continued to be monitored.

The Prince of Wales, 73, previously tested positive for Covid at the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020.

Prince Charles on Wednesday night (REUTERS)

He spent his seven days of quarantine at his Birkhall home on the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland.

He later told broadcasters that he “got away with it quite lightly” and only experienced mild symptoms.

Speaking to Sky News in June 2020 about his first positive Covid case, he said: “I was lucky in my case... but I've had it, and I can so understand what other people have gone through.”

He added: “I feel particularly for those who have lost their loved ones and have been unable to be with them at the time. That, to me, is the most ghastly thing”.

Prince Charles had been due to unveil a statue to Licoricia of Winchester on Thursday.

Royal aides said Prince Charles tested positive during a routine test, which suggested he was experiencing no strong symptoms.

Both he and the Duchess of Cornwall have been taking regular tests before engagements but it was not immediately clear if Camilla had undergone a test before her engagements on Wednesday. Clarence House said it would seek to clarify that later.

A Clarence House spokesman referred questions about when Charles met the Queen to Buckingham Palace.

The announcement of the Prince’s positive test was made just after midday, around 12 minutes before Charles was due to arrive in Winchester on a visit to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Aides were only informed a few moments before.

More than 1,000 people were gathered behind barriers in the city’s Jewry Street, waiting to see the Prince unveil the new statue of Licoricia of Winchester, a prominent Jewish moneylender who was murdered in 1277 during a period of antisemitism in the reign of Edward I that culminated in the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290.

The Queen’s representative in Hampshire, the Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson, told the crowd, who groaned with disappointment when he relayed the news.

It comes days after the Queen said it was her “sincerest wish” for the Duchess of Cornwall to be known as ‘Queen Consort’ when Charles becomes King.

The Queen marked a historic jubilee on February 6 by celebrating 70 years on the throne, the longest of any British monarch.

In a letter to mark the occasion, she wrote: “When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”

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