Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Prince Philip has been moved to another hospital for heart tests and continued treatments and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, is keeping calm and carrying on with work as she held a video conference call to South Australia.
According to People, Her Majesty had a video conference call on Wednesday with South Australian officials to learn how the region is coping with the pandemic and the bushfires from early 2020. They also unveiled a new statue of Queen Elizabeth at the Government House and Her Majesty even managed to joke about the sculpture of her image and likeness.
She told them that seeing her statue outside of their window "must be quite alarming." The Queen was also gifted with a maquette, or a scale model of her statue, and joked about this as well by saying that she's glad they did not send her the big sculpture.
People reported that the video call came out on the same day Philip had to be moved to St Bartholomew's Hospital from King Edward VII Hospital. According to BBC, the medical institution is known for its excellent cardiac care unit.
Reporters saw royal staff members holding out umbrellas for someone outside of the hospital, potentially to screen and secure Philip from onlookers. Uniformed officials were also sighted outside of St. Bartholomew's entrance.
Doctors are still not disclosing the exact nature of Philip's illness but he has a pre-existing heart condition. However, Buckingham Palace said that the Duke of Edinburgh will still need more treatments for an infection "until at least the end of the week." Another insider told the BBC that the Queen's husband is comfortable and responding well.
Philip, 99, was advised to be admitted to the hospital on Feb. 16 after complaining that he has been feeling unwell for days. Five days after his hospital stay, his eldest son, Prince Charles, made a visit and sparked concerns that the duke's condition might have turned for the worst.
Buckingham Palace did not say why Charles had to come to the hospital, which had strict restrictions due to COVID-19. However, Philip's grandson, Prince William, and his youngest son, Prince Edward, quelled fears and said that he was going to be OK and that the duke was looking forward to getting out of the hospital.
Meanwhile, members of the royal staff have been united in prayers for the Duke of Edinburgh. An insider told Daily Mirror that the mood at the Palace has significantly shifted upon learning that Philip had to be moved to a cardiac unit and everyone is hoping that the Queen's husband will pull through.
This has been Philip's longest hospital stay in his entire life. Medical experts, who are not part of Philip's team of doctors, speculated that he has been given intravenous antibiotics and could be hospitalized for a month and a half if he has an infection that may have strained his heart.
