The Queen Is Back
Nine days after testing positive for COVID-19, Queen Elizabeth II feels well enough to pick up where she left off.
Her Majesty is on the mend. Nine days after testing positive for COVID-19, Queen Elizabeth II is officially back in action, Buckingham Palace confirms to BAZAAR.com.
After rescheduling a number of engagements last week, the monarch returned to her duties today, March 1, for two video call meetings with ambassadors from the Principality of Andorra and Republic of Chad.
The virtual audiences were the first time the queen—who connected from her desk at Windsor Castle to a conference screen at Buckingham Palace—has been seen since testing positive for the coronavirus on February 20.
Photo: PA Images
Her time with Carles Jordana Madero and Kedella Younous Hamidi were part of a customary meeting that takes place anytime a new U.K.-based ambassador is appointed. During the 15-to-20-minute meeting, the new ambassador has a chance to speak with the queen and present their “letter of credence,” which shows them as their country’s official representative to Britain.
BAZAAR understands that following today’s return to work, the queen will continue with other duties throughout the week and has a number of private engagements in her diary.
On Sunday, the monarch gave her clearest sign that she had beaten COVID-19 by meeting with family members at Frogmore on the Windsor estate—a place she often likes to walk her dogs. The Daily Mail first reported that the royal spent the afternoon outdoors with Prince William, Duchess Kate, Princess Beatrice, and Beatrice’s baby daughter, Sienna.
Photo: PA Images
During a March 1 trip to England’s newly minted city of Southend-on-Sea, Prince Charles revealed to well-wishers that his mother is feeling “much better” after days of mild cold-like symptoms.
At the same outing, the Prince of Wales also became the first senior member of the British royal family to directly comment on the war in Ukraine, calling Russia’s actions “unconscionable.” Charles attended a tribute for British politician David Amess—who died after a terror stabbing last October—and drew a parallel between his murder and the situation in Ukraine.
“What we saw in the terrible tragedy in Southend was an attack on democracy, on an open society, on freedom itself. We are seeing those same values under attack today in Ukraine in the most unconscionable way,” he said. “In the stand we take here, we are in solidarity with all those who are resisting brutal aggression.”
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, though no longer senior working royals, also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine via a statement on their website, Archewell.
This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US