The Queen is determined to keep working through her Covid infection, royal sources said last night.
The 95-year-old monarch, who tested positive for the virus yesterday, wants to fulfil a number of online audiences and telephone meetings this week.
Only one event, which was scheduled to take place in person, is likely to be cancelled.
Within hours of her Covid diagnosis being announced, the Queen issued a message of congratulations to the Team GB women’s and men’s curling squads following their medal successes at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
She was also well enough to cheer on one of her horses, Kincardine, as it romped to victory at Newbury. The Queen is believed to have watched the race on TV at Windsor Castle.
Her trainer, Nicky Henderson, said afterwards: ‘We were all sad to hear of Her Majesty’s Covid today. I don’t know if that (the win) is Covid medicine but I hope it’s given her a bit of a lift.’
The Queen (pictured during an engagement earlier this month) tested positive for coronavirus
The Queen with Rear Admiral James Macleod (right) and Major General Eldon Millar as she met the incoming and outgoing Defence Service Secretaries in person at Windsor on Wednesday
In a sign of how relaxed Royal Family members are about the Queen’s diagnosis, Prince William will go ahead with a solo visit to Denmark to learn about its widely-praised approach to early childhood development.
The Covid diagnosis, which followed an outbreak of cases among Windsor staff, will cause concern given the Queen’s age and recent poor health.
She was hospitalised for mystery tests in October after cancelling a high-profile visit to Northern Ireland at the 11th hour, and was reluctantly forced to pull out of a Remembrance Sunday event the following month.
The Queen took an extensive period of rest, only recently returning to a limited number of public duties looking frailer and using a walking stick.
Buckingham Palace said yesterday that she was experiencing only ‘mild cold-like symptoms’ and her medical team was monitoring her condition closely.
She will be isolating and following all appropriate guidelines, a spokesman added. It is the first time the monarch, who will turn 96 in April and is triple-jabbed, has contracted Covid-19.
The 95-year-old monarch, who tested positive for the virus yesterday, wants to fulfil a number of online audiences and telephone meetings this week. Pictured: The queen during a virtual meeting with the Ambassador of Jordan Manar Dabbas at Buckingham Palace on Thursday
Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles at Balmoral Cricket Pavilion on October 1, 2021
Her son Charles tested positive on February 10, two days after meeting his mother at Windsor.
His wife Camilla tested positive last Monday. Royal sources said it was not thought that Charles was responsible for infecting his mother because ‘a number of cases have been diagnosed in the Windsor Castle team’.
Insiders said while precautions were still in place – including a daily testing regime for the Queen and anyone coming into close proximity with her – restrictions at the castle have been relaxed in recent weeks.
Mr Johnson said last night: ‘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.’
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, added: ‘Every Sunday across the Church of England we pray for Her Majesty the Queen.
‘We pray today especially for her comfort and swift recovery, and for all suffering from Covid.’
The Queen was pictured smiling as she was driven around her Sandringham Estate this month
When the Queen moved to Windsor at the start of the pandemic she was confined to her private apartments in the upper ward of the castle with 22 staff, including her private secretary Sir Edward Young, her personal assistant and adviser Angela Kelly, and the page of the backstairs, Paul Whybrew.
The tight-knit group was dubbed ‘HMS Bubble’ by her master of the household, Tony Johnstone-Burt, a former Royal Navy officer. In an email to staff, he wrote: ‘There are 22 Royal Household staff inside the Bubble, and it struck me that our predicament is not dissimilar to my former life in the Royal Navy on a long overseas deployment.
‘Regardless of the roles we perform, we do them to an exceptional standard to allow the Queen and other members to do their duty to the best of their ability, too.’
One royal source confirmed that HMS Bubble had been ‘relaxed of late’ as the Queen started to undertake more engagements in person, particularly in the run-up to her Platinum Jubilee.
‘It’s bubble-ish. If you are going to the castle or coming into direct contact with the Queen then you are required to test but, in general, restrictions are clearly not as rigorous as they were this time a year or 18 months ago,’ they said.
Another added: ‘This is the first time she has got it, so it stands to reason that precautions are slightly more relaxed now, as they are in many places, as the Queen interacts with more people.’
On Wednesday last week the monarch met incoming defence services secretary, Major General Eldon Millar, and his predecessor, Rear Admiral James Macleod.
She did not wear a mask and shook hands with both men. She alluded to mobility issues by pointing to her leg and saying: ‘Well, as you can see, I can’t move.’
The monarch will be monitored by her own medical team, led by Sir Huw Thomas.
She could be given newly-approved antiviral drugs, which are seen as a key way to cut the risk of vulnerable people needing hospital treatment.
They need to be taken within three to five days of contracting Covid. Buckingham Palace would not comment on any treatment she was receiving.
Her recovery will be monitored closely in anticipation of three major public events Buckingham Palace has said she ‘hopes to attend’ next month, starting with a diplomatic reception at Windsor on Wednesday next week.
Well-placed sources say they anticipate the Queen will attend some of the ‘major’ events to mark her jubilee in June – but not all.
