Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for COVID-19 and has just minor symptoms

Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for COVID-19 Image Credit

The world's longest-serving monarch, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, tests positive for Covid; symptoms are slight.

Buckingham Palace said that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday and is suffering moderate symptoms. The coronavirus vaccine was administered to the queen three times.

The 95-year-old queen will continue to perform limited activities at Windsor Castle over the next week, according to authorities.

"She will continue to receive medical attention and will adhere to all relevant procedures," the palace said in a statement.

Her eldest son, Prince Charles, and daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have both recently been diagnosed with Covid. Since then, Charles has returned to work.

Senior politicians shared their sorrow, including Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tweeted, "Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a fast recovery." The head of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, wished the queen "well health and a quick recovery." "Please, Ma'am, get well soon."

People in the United Kingdom who test positive for Covid must self-isolate for at least five days, though the British government has stated that this restriction will be lifted in the coming week.

After her father, George VI, died on February 6, 1952, Elizabeth became queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with her husband Prince Philip by her side. Her crowning took place on June 2, 1953.

Philip died at the age of 99 on April 9, 2021, the 16th anniversary of Prince Charles and Camilla's marriage, and his funeral was held four days before Elizabeth's 95th birthday on April 21.

Elizabeth has had fourteen prime ministers, ranging from Winston Churchill on her accession to the throne in 1952 through Boris Johnson today.

On an early April day in 2020, the queen appeared in a rare video speech from Windsor Castle to promise her subjects that the coronavirus will be defeated. The speech aired just hours before Johnson was admitted to the hospital for Covid-19.

"While we have experienced challenges in the past, this one is unique," she explained. "This time, we join with all nations throughout the world in a single effort to cure, using huge improvements in science and our natural compassion."

During the pandemic, Elizabeth and Philip stayed at Windsor Castle, where she worked remotely. With Covid restrictions lifted, she made a rare public appearance in late March 2021 at a shrine in neighboring Surrey to celebrate the Royal Australian Air Force's centenary.

Sophie Countess of Wessex, Philip's daughter-in-law, told well-wishers outside Windsor Castle a day after his death, "the queen has been magnificent." Elizabeth left a handwritten note signed "Lilibet" on his casket, and four days later, on her 95th birthday, she issued a statement stating she had been "very affected" by her subjects' demonstrations of "love and generosity."

The queen is the most recent monarch to be infected with Covid. Both Denmark's Queen Margrethe, 82, and Spain's King Felipe VI, 54, tested positive earlier in February and had mild symptoms.

—This story was contributed to by The Associated Press.

h/s