As a precautionary measure amid the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world, Queen Elizabeth II will reportedly stay in Windsor Castle for a few weeks. It was not revealed, though, how long the monarch will stay in Berkshire to "self-isolate."
The Queen's arrival at her reported "favorite home" comes a week earlier than her annual stay in the county. As it happens, she always spends a month of her pre-spring season in Windsor Castle just in time for the Holy Week.
For this year, however, there were reports claiming that it might take a few months before Queen Elizabeth II would return to London. Considering that she is already turning 94 in April, she is very vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus that is now infecting hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.
As per Town & Country, the Buckingham Palace recently released an official statement announcing that most of the Queen's upcoming engagements will either be postponed or cancelled. But, just a day before she headed toward Berkshire, Queen Elizabeth II still receive a private audience inside the Palace, which served as her final engagement in the meantime.
She reportedly met and greeted with the ingoing and outgoing Commanding Officers of the Royal Navy warship HMS Queen Elizabeth. While she had a sit-down talk with the new officer, Captain Angus Essenhigh and his predecessor, Commodore Steven Moorhouse, it was said that they did not shook hands as a precautionary measure for the virus.
The same publication also noted that the HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest vessel that the Royal Navy built. Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne both attended the commissioning of the ship in 2017.
In a similar report released by Daily Mail, the monarch has left Buckingham Palace on Thursday. Her three upcoming "garden parties" have now been cancelled as well.
The annual Maundy Service at St George's Chapel, a service that members of Royal Family always attend to will no longer push through. The same is also true for the other engagements that most of the senior royals have in the next few weeks, including tours and appearances.
Several reports also shared that Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's wedding reception at the Buckingham Palace will no longer happen as well. In terms of the ceremony of the wedding, details are yet to be revealed. But, it was said that the couple has been considering a lot of things and reviewing all of the factors that will play a role in their special day.