Queen Elizabeth and her royal team are taking precautions in light of the Coronavirus, with the Palace announcing some of her upcoming engagements will be suspended for the time being.
Over the weekend, it was reported the Queen, 93, had departed Buckingham Palace in London, instead heading up to Windsor Castle with husband Prince Philip.
While a number of news outlets reported Her Majesty had left amid fears around COVID-19, HELLO! confirmed the Queen was actually making a regular visit to the Berkshire residence, and was expected to return to Buckingham Palace next week.
That said, the Palace are clearly in the process of putting measures in place to protect the Queen and Prince Philip as the outbreak continues to spread.
In a statement released to media on Saturday, the Palace said it was taking a “sensible precaution” in halting some of the Queen’s engagements for the time being.
“For practical reasons in the current circumstances, changes are being made to The Queen’s diary commitments in the coming weeks,” the Palace wrote.
The statement continued: “In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, Her Majesty’s forthcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden will be rescheduled.”
“Audiences will continue as usual. Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in line with the appropriate advice.”
The Queen’s suspended events come after The Times released a new report revealing that Harry, Meghan and Archie will return to the UK as a family of three this summer to spend time with the 93-year-old Monarch.
In June, the royal family traditionally step out together for the annual Trooping the Colour parade.
It could be likely that we’ll see the Sussex family attend the event as well, despite having stepped back in their roles as senior royals at that stage.
That said, with things looking a little uncertain in the near future and as travel bans widen across the world, we may see some variances in these royal plans.
While it can be a little disconcerting and worrisome to hear of the Palace taking these measures, it’s also encouraging to see them take the outbreak seriously, abiding by the precautions laid out by the World Health Organisation and other world leaders.
With social distancing being one of them, it seems the Queen’s choice to hole up in Windsor for the time being might be for the best.
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