Queen Elizabeth is on board with taking precautionary measures while the UK and the rest of the world wrestles with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Out of an abundance of caution, the Queen has canceled her public engagements for the "foreseeable future." She has also reportedly left Buckingham Palace and will be spending her time at Windsor Castle with Prince Philip.
A palace source has also said that much of the Queen's staff is feeling "panicky" over the ongoing situation.
The Queen had planned to visit Cheshire on March 19 and Camden on March 26, but both trips are canceled now. Buckingham Palace released the following statement to explain the cancellations:
“As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, changes are being made to the Queen’s diary commitments in the coming weeks. 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 news comes as many have publicly worried about the Queen's health if she encounters the coronavirus. At age 93, she is definitely in a high-risk group.
So far, it's said that the Queen "is in good health but it was thought best to move her. A lot of her staff are a bit panicky over coronavirus."
She was also resistant to the idea of canceling events until very recently. The source shared, "The Queen has met a lot of people there until recently. But she is weeks away from her 94th birthday and advisers believe it is best to get her out of harm’s way. Buckingham Palace is in the middle of London and also has a bigger staff than other estates so is deemed a much more dangerous location."
Prince Charles and Camilla are also similarly changing their plans. The two were on track to travel to Jordan, Cyrus, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in mid-March, but Clarence House announced that changes are being made "owing to the unfolding situation with the Coronavirus pandemic." Charles is 71 years old, and Camilla is 72, so the precautions definitely make sense.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are also unlikely to return to the UK anytime soon due to coronavirus fears. Harry was originally planning to be on hand for the London Marathon on April 26, but the event has been rescheduled to October 6. Harry has typically attended the event each year it has been held in the past.
And while sporting events across the globe are being canceled or postponed, Prince Harry has yet to make a decision about the upcoming Invictus Games. They are currently scheduled for May 2020 and will be held in the Netherlands. The government in the Netherlands is currently limiting events to a number of 100 attendees max through the end of March.
Both Harry and Meghan are expected to attend the Invictus Games, and this would have likely been the next time we would spot the pair in any kind of official capacity.
It had been reported that the two were planning to bring Archie to Balmoral this summer so he could celebrate his first birthday and spend time with the family, but those plans may also be up in the air for the time being.
The British press has reported, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are believed to have accepted the Queen’s invitation to visit her this summer at Balmoral, her Scottish retreat, and are planning to take their son with them. They are also expected to spend time with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Birkhall, Charles’s retreat on the Balmoral estate."
However, it's possible that those reports are false amid additional reporting that indicates Prince William and Harry are nowhere near ready to reconcile. The Daily Mail has said, "Those close to the brothers say things between them are worse than ever. William is said to feel insulted by his brother’s recent comments, including the stream of remarks on Harry and Meghan’s Sussex Royal website, which many have taken as implied criticisms of the Royal Family. William feels his brother has ‘disrespected’ the institution of the monarchy and – most woundingly of all – their grandmother the Queen."
The Mail has also reported that Harry was never happy having to play second or third fiddle to William and Kate. "Unable to find a new job suitable for a Prince, Harry is even said to have considered working as a firefighter or a rugby coach. He was growing increasingly irritated, meanwhile, at life on the Royal front line, despite public admiration for the work he undertook with William and Kate."
The outlet also reported that palace aides were supposedly confused by Meghan's work style. "Meghan’s many ideas for projects bamboozled Palace aides, who were not used to this new way of operating, with early-morning emails and a non-stop stream of suggestions and requests. One aide described it as a ‘different type of work culture that no one was prepared for.’"
So while the family might be getting back together this summer … they also might not. Like many of us in the rest of the world, the royal family is stuck in a holding pattern of "wait and see, wait and see." Meanwhile, it's encouraging that they appear to be taking the threat of the coronavirus more seriously now.
