How Royal Family Is Protecting Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles Amid Coronavirus Fears

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the world and more positive cases are confirmed around the globe, the royal family appears to be taking measures to make sure that Queen Elizabeth and other senior members of the family are kept safe.

The novel Coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has continued to spread throughout the world, with WHO confirming more than 260,000 cases globally. While it can be spread to anyone, it has been stated that the disease can more often lead to serious health complications for those with underlying health conditions and senior citizens. As such, the royal family has been forced to take precautions to protect their most senior members—which include Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, as well as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. All four royals are 93, 98, 71 and 72 years old respectively.

According to Express UK, it was believed that Queen Elizabeth’s statement on the spread of the disease would be delivered via a televised address but was instead released as an official statement from Buckingham Palace. Meanwhile, the Queen and Prince Philip have isolated at Windsor Castle as a precaution.

As for why the message was delivered in such a way, royal expert Victoria Arbiter told the HeirPod podcast that there were two reasons for the change. While one was related to the Queen’s health, the other likely played into the need to make sure the airwaves were cleared for important updates from the medical community.

“There is a real sense that they need to keep the focus and keep the airwaves clear for the experts, for the doctors, for the Prime Minister,” she said. “This was a way to get the message out there—it could be printed on newspapers, posted on social media, read out on broadcast. It could reach a huge number of people without taking away airtime.”

“It was also perhaps wanting to limit the number of people around the Queen as well,” she added. “We know that when the queen gives us an address, there are a lot of people involved...There is an abundance of caution given the queen’s age and that she and Prince Philip are protected. So that impacted the decision-making.”

Meanwhile, as for Prince Charles, who along with his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were already in a high-risk category because of age, could be at more risk of catching the disease following his close proximity to Prince Albert of Monaco nine days ago. Prince Albert has a confirmed case of coronavirus.