The queen's health is now being closely monitored.
Queen Elizabeth II met with Prince Charles before he tested positive for COVID-19 and is now being closely monitored, a royal source tells ET.
On Thursday, Clarence House announced that Charles -- who is vaccinated and boosted -- tested positive for COVID-19 that morning and is now self-isolating. Our source tells ET that 95-year-old Elizabeth and 73-year-old Charles met on Tuesday after she returned from Sandringham. According to the source, the queen is not displaying any COVID symptoms, and the Palace will continue to monitor the situation. Meanwhile, Charles' wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has tested negative.
In their statement on Thursday, Clarence House said Charles was canceling his upcoming scheduled events in light of testing positive. Charles has already attended multiple events this week, including speaking at an indoor reception for the British Asian Trust on Wednesday evening, which he attended with Camilla at the British Museum. The Prince of Wales was photographed at the event, speaking with many of the guests without any face coverings.
This is the second time Charles has contracted COVID. He tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020, saying at the time that he experienced "mild symptoms." Meanwhile, in December, Queen Elizabeth canceled her family's pre-Christmas lunch due to the highly transmissible COVID-19 omicron variant. A Palace source told ET at the time that the queen made the decision with "regret," but added that "there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all concerned."
In recent months, she's scaled back her engagements due to a variety of health reasons. In November, she missed the annual Remembrance Service after spraining her back. A month prior to that, she spent the night in the hospital for tests and observation after being advised by doctors to rest for a few days.
The queen recently made it clear that she wants Camilla to become "Queen Consort" when Charles ascends the throne. She made the remarks on Saturday on the same day she hosted a reception at Sandringham House, which marked her first in-person public appearance in three months.
"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service," she said in her message to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
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