When Will Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II And Prince Philip Receive The COVID-19 Vaccine?

Britain’s 94-year-old monarch Elizabeth II and her husband 99-year-old Prince Philip will be among the first few citizens of the United Kingdom to receive coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The United Kingdom is the first country to announce the historic immunization program against COVID-19. The queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made it to the list of first few candidates to receive the vaccination, The Sunday Times reported. However, the royals will not receive any special treatment and will have to wait in line.

As per the report, the queen and the prince "will receive the jab in line with the [U.K.] government’s roll-out, which begins on Tuesday." The publication clarified the first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be received by elderly care home residents and their care takers. Next in line is anyone above the age of 80 and frontline health workers.

The royal aides told The Sunday Times it is the queen’s “personal decision” and “private matter” whether to get vaccinated or not. However, the source believes that Prince George’s great-grandmother will “let it be known” once she receives the dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It is said the queen going public about the jab can prove to be a “powerful counter to the anti-vaccination movement.”

Meanwhile, there is no update on when the heir-apparent Prince Charles and second-in-line Prince William will receive the vaccine. The news about the queen getting vaccinated within weeks comes days after it was announced that traditional Christmas celebrations for the royal family at Sandringham Estate were canceled.

The queen and the duke will be skipping Christmas at their Norfolk palace where annually they invite all the close members of the family. For the first time in 33 years, the queen is not visiting Sandringham and will stay apart from her family. The royal couple, who recently celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary, will spend a “quiet” Christmas at Windsor Castle, where they have been isolating themselves since the outbreak of coronavirus in March.

Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate Middleton are currently on a three-day Royal Train Tour traveling 1,250 miles to meet and personally thank the frontline workers for their inspiring work through the challenging time of the year.

“This evening, The Duke and Duchess departed on the #RoyalTrainTour to pay tribute to the inspiring work of those who have gone above and beyond to support communities across England, Scotland, and Wales,” read the statement by Kensington Palace on the royals’ official Instagram account.