London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 29, 2026

Covid: Charles met Queen two days before testing positive

Covid: Charles met Queen two days before testing positive

The Prince of Wales, who is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, met the Queen two days ago in Windsor, a royal source says.

They say the monarch is not showing any symptoms of coronavirus.

Prince Charles tested positive on Thursday morning - it is the second time he has contracted the virus.

The previous evening, he and the Duchess of Cornwall met Chancellor Rishi Sunak and others at a reception in the British Museum.

Camilla has tested negative for coronavirus, Clarence House said.

Buckingham Palace has not confirmed whether the Queen has tested positive or negative, citing medical privacy.

Earlier this week, Charles held an investiture at Windsor Castle, where the Queen, 95, is currently in residence.

The 73-year-old heir to the throne last caught the virus in March 2020, when he reported only mild symptoms.

Clarence House confirmed he was now triple vaccinated, but would not give any detail on whether he was experiencing coronavirus symptoms this time.

Tuesday's investiture carried out by the prince saw Ansel Wong, a Trinidadian-born cultural activist who previously helped to organise the Notting Hill carnival, receive a CBE for services to art and culture.

London restaurant founders and chefs Margot and Fergus Henderson were made OBEs for services to the culinary arts while Dr Nisreen Alwan, associate professor in public health at Southampton University, was made an MBE for services to medicine and public health during the pandemic.

As well as the investiture, it was a busy day for Charles with meetings and engagements including:

*  A reception with Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer

*  A reception with Adm Sir Antony Radakin, upon assuming his appointment as Chief of the Defence Staff

*  A dinner at St James's Palace in his capacity as Royal Founding Patron of the Professional Teaching Institute

Charles and Camilla attended a reception on Wednesday evening


On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla were at a British Museum reception to celebrate the work of the British Asian Trust.

Guests included the chancellor, Home Secretary Priti Patel and music producer Naughty Boy.

Earlier that day, Charles attended London's National Gallery as its royal patron.

People who develop coronavirus symptoms are asked to notify those they have been in close contact with in the previous 48 hours.

In England, contacts of positive Covid cases who are fully vaccinated should take lateral flow tests for seven days. They do not have to self-isolate unless they test positive.

Charles must self-isolate for 10 full days, but he could be allowed to end this early if he tests negative on day five and day six.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled that these rules could be lifted within weeks.

Priti Patel, Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murthy, Charles and Camilla were among guests at the celebration of the British Asian Trust


Charles had been due to unveil a statue of Licoricia of Winchester on Thursday, a medieval Jewish businesswoman who was a money lender and single parent in the Hampshire city.

Clarence House said His Royal Highness was "deeply disappointed not to be able to attend... and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible".

The announcement of Charles's positive test was made just after midday, about 12 minutes before he was due to arrive.

More than 1,000 people were gathered behind barriers in the city's Jewry Street, waiting to see the prince.

The Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson, helped reveal the statue on behalf of the prince


The Queen's representative in Hampshire, the Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson, read out a message from the prince to the disappointed crowd.

Charles's message said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry that I cannot be with you today. I am desperately disappointed as I was so looking forward to marking this historic occasion with you.

"I hope very much that I will be able to visit at a future time but for today please accept my most heartfelt apologies and my very best wishes as you mark this memorable occasion for Winchester."

Meanwhile, Camilla has carried on with her planned engagements, earlier visiting Paddington Haven, a sexual assault referral centre in West London.

She met former Love Island star Zara McDermott and discussed her experience of revenge porn and assault.

The Queen with Charles, her eldest son, at the opening ceremony of the Senedd in Cardiff in October


The Queen returned to Windsor Castle, where she met Charles, earlier this week after spending the anniversary of her accession day on Sunday at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

The day before, she had hosted a Platinum Jubilee reception for volunteer groups and pensioners from the Sandringham community, with guests describing her as being on "sparkling form".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×