The announcement about Queen Elizabeth’s Covid diagnosis came out on Sunday, and she ended up canceling her virtual schedule on Monday and Tuesday, much to the chagrin of the palace aides who had already briefed the media about how the brave 95-year-old Covid-afflicted woman was going to work through her illness. The Queen was reportedly symptomatic and was experiencing “mild cold” symptoms, which… for a 95-year-old, that could still be pretty significant. But then on Wednesday, the Queen did a phone call with Boris Johnson, and she’s supposed to be doing “virtual events” today. Her aides are briefing the press that she’s continuing with her “light duties.”
The Queen is ‘getting over’ Covid and only has ‘very mild’ symptoms, sources say, as Buckingham Palace revealed she held her weekly telephone audience with the Prime Minister. The monarch, 95, who tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, cancelled virtual audiences on Tuesday as she continued to suffer from mild cold-like symptoms. But her symptoms were said to have worn off by Wednesday evening and she was able to hold her regular phone conversation with Boris Johnson.
A source told the Sun: ‘She’s already getting over her Covid – it’s amazing to think she’s done it so quickly.’
On Wednesday, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘Her Majesty did speak to the Prime Minister this evening.’
The Queen’s advanced age, Covid diagnosis, frailer appearance and recent health scare mean her medical team will be keeping a close eye on her progress, but being well enough to speak to the Prime Minister will be taken as an encouraging sign.
I mean, it is an encouraging sign, I suppose. I still think no one should underplay how rotten she likely feels. Remember several years ago when she “only” had a “heavy cold” over a Christmas holiday? That cold took her out of commission for weeks. Remarkable then that she’s recovered in a matter of days from the deadly Covid virus.
Meanwhile, People Magazine says that the Queen is depending more on Prince Charles and Prince William these days:
While the monarch, 95, continues to keep a busy schedule, she’s enlisted her son and grandson to carry out many of her royal duties — especially those that involve foreign travel. In addition, without her husband Prince Philip to consult with on matters, the Queen remains in regular contact with Prince Charles and Prince William, often by phone.
“They operate together — not as equals, because the Queen remains in charge — but William is a very active component in the way the monarchy protects itself,” says historian Robert Lacey tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.
Yeah, I have my doubts as to how much William is kept in all of the royal loops. I think Charles and the Queen operate as one, or rather, Charles is mostly in charge and the Queen acquiesces to whatever he wants at this point. I also believe that it’s more likely that Charles is the one briefing William on various situations and not the Queen.
Update: Whoops, it looks like Liz cancelled her virtual events today as well. Those courtiers have been consistently way too optimistic about a 95-year-old’s recovery from Covid. She has nothing scheduled for the rest of the week.
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Oh, I think William is certainly being kept in the loop; it would be ridiculous not to. Whether the Queen passes tomorrow or in 5 years, she’s no longer able to work the way she did – Charles has to take over and William has to step into Charles’ place. That doesn’t necessarily mean that William has a lot to say in the decision-making, but he has to be in the loop. And now, I’m imagining that the reason we haven’t seen William lately is because he’s studying all the things he’s been ignoring for the past several years.
I now have this image of PW locked in a forgotten dusty room at BP by PC, sitting at an old fashioned school desk surrounded by binders, power point presentations and boxes. One small window too small to escape through lets a weak beam of sun through. Much like the miller’s daughter he cannot leave until he has completed his task. Unlike the miller’s daughter there is no Rumpelstiltskin to save him, he’s already sold his soul, there is nothing left to bid with. So he must toil away at long over due learning until whispers of the status of the Keenbridges’s marriage rise again, then he’ll be trotted out to attempt to gaze lovingly at a mannequin he cannot remember ever liking.
Well done @HeatherC!
Lol, it’s like we’re watching the same movie.
Well, we know for certain Willnot is “a very active component in the way the monarchy protects itself”. The problem for the monarchy is that the way they’re doing it is a PR disaster.
That’s the only reason I believe that William is actively involved— because they’re doing one of the crappiest jobs of “protecting themselves” and we know he has the worst instincts at all times for anything PR-related. (Or common sense related.)
This is yet more nonsense about William stepping up. The Queen stopped doing international travel years ago. We are seeing no evidence of William really increasing his workload.
It makes sense that she’s getting over it if she’s had it for 2ish weeks and was fully vaxxed/boosted with the best medical care etc. I don’t think anyone thinks she didn’t have it until Sunday and is over it on Wednesday.
Although *considerably* younger, my 22 yr old nephew was exposed (fully vaxxed/boosted/masks up). He said he felt tired, had a sore throat, and a cough for 3 days, then on the 4th, woke up feeling much better. 5th day, it was “gone”. Tested neg. by day 7, and again on day 9.
It isn’t *inconceivable* she’s feeling ill for only a couple of days…but if things are being cancelled at the last moment again?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as we know, the palaces/courtiers play fast and loose with the facts.
I had it last month and was symptomatic for about a week or so and was fatigued/wiped out for another week after that (apparently fatigue as an after-effect is more common with women than with men.)
Obviously everyone’s symptoms are different, but my guess is that a 96 year old woman is going to have a harder time recovering than someone significantly younger, even if she’s just feeling wiped out still.
I’m sorry I wouldn’t compare a 22 year old to a 95 year old ever. Even then a ton of kids around us got it recently and were pretty sick. A friend of mine in his 40s tested positive for 13 days…
Perhaps a better example would be my father. He’s 93 and had it for 10 days and fully recovered. He spent the first 2 in the hospital where he received monoclonal antibodies. (he went to the ER because his blood oxygen levels were low and he tested positive there)
The Queen has been having others do the travelling bits for years, how is that news?
The Queen has postponed her virtual engagements to a later date, so it’s clear she’s not recovering from Covid as the press and Palace would want to the public to believe.
Exactly Amy. Notice how BP did not release a current photo of QEII on the phone with Boris the Clown? The one in this article is old. They are hiding how sick she is.
And of course the call was supposedly with BoJo, who is in on the game. The Queen is ill, give her some space for a week.
Yesterday’s article was about the queen being pressured to remove Harry as councilor of state. I thought, who are these arseholes pressuring a sick, elderly woman and why isn’t her family protecting her from this kind of pressure while so ill?
I am getting a weekend at bernies vibe
The cancellation could also be caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… How much virtual ribbon cutting does one wants to do when a potential new war is starting on the continent? I know the Windsors aren’t great a reading the room, but this might be too much to ignore, even for them
The Palace has been working overtime to douse out potentials fires that could spoil the Platinum Jubilee, but nothing they can do about a war in Ukraine overshadowing it all.
The thing about COVID is that it is unpredictable. One day it’s mild symptoms the next someone is fighting for their life. Regardless BP should just say The Queen continues to be symptomatic with COVID. We will continue to update the public as needed. The press offices for the RF cause more problems than necessary. Every time they say she is working, and then they cancel that event it makes things look worse than they probably are…..they never learn.
The queen has a health scare, the palace plays down how sick she is, they then make assurances that she’ll be back for xyz, and then they cancel everything. Now people are back on death watch. Rinse and repeat. The palace has the worst PR that I’ve ever seen.
Agreed JT. They need to say she is resting and stop with the “she will perform light duties”. There is nothing wrong with a 95 year old resting from Covid. The fact that they have to cancel everything and be so secretive over health is making people think the worst.
Yes! I know I posted about it yesterday or the other day but I tested positive on the 10th and it wasn’t until the 16th that I felt like I could work from home if I had been allowed and I would say I had a mild case of Covid but some days the symptoms were awful. I think it was Saturday when the only thing I did was take a shower and I had to take a nap after that because I was exhausted.
I was off work for 10 days and returned Monday and last night I felt a little achy and tired because I’m pushing my post-Covid self too hard. The Queen may WANT to be all keep calm and carry on but Covid had others plans. Or maybe she is in bed with a G&T and its just the courtiers/press who want her to be so strong.
@Meghan please don’t push yourself until the symptoms are gone. You really don’t want long-covid! It’s documented several incidences of ME clusters after virus infections, and it’s no doubt a lot of people suffering from long-covid ard going to end up with a ME diagnose in the end.
Light duties as in being pressured to strip Harry of his Counsellor of State? Why is this so important right now? Also, William secretly met with MI6 on the eve of the Ukrainian invasion…um what now?
Surely in a crisis, MI6 has better things to do than provide a condensed, comic-book version of events to a powerless cosplayer seeking only to burnish his empty medals and add to his participation pins.
Yeah that’s not something that helps me sleep better at night.
10million percent cosign – ugh. I can’t bear the thought of Baldingham being involved in an actual war in any way. Call Harry immediately.
It’s just shows what their priorities are.. shameful..
I had Omicron in January and I’m in my forties with 3 shots. I was exhausted for four days and then went back to work but needed a daily nap for another week and still need to take the occasional nap if I’ve done a lot of physical activity. At her age, it’s no joke.
I had it too, and my “mild” symptoms left me with fatigue for 2 weeks after that had me taking a nap under my desk at lunch every day and barely able to climb stairs.
So this is the second time this week they’ve had to backtrack? Groan. Let the woman rest. “Setting an example for the country” should mean getting proper rest while ill. Forget being champions of mental illness; the RF needs to step back and review the basics of physical illness.
“No, she’s getting over Covid so fast – terrifically fast, the fastest- and is just desperate to get out of her warm, comfortable bed and back to the grind. Actually, we just signed her up for a triathlon…”
All of this tells me that no matter what “operation London Bridge” plans exist, the courtiers have absolutely no clue how they will manage the announcement of the queen’s passing. They’re just making shit up as they go along, which goes along with the ridiculous lack of professionalism we’ve seen from these people in all other areas. All courtiers seem to know how to do is polish their medals.
+1
For real. It’s going to be a complete shitshow when she dies especially when you factor in her grasping, power grubbing, tacky ass family just waiting to fill in the vacuum that the queen’s absence will inevitably leave.
Their constant optimism (or outright lies?) about her health speaks volumes. If you ask me, these courtiers might as well be screaming: “NOOO! OH DEAR GOD, PLEASE DON’T DIE AND LEAVE US WITH CHARLES/WILLIAM!”
The palace should stop encouraging the stupid idea that it’s brave or honourable to work through a sickness.
This then just becomes the norm for businesses who expect people with the flu to be able to keep up their usual pace, or leads to people side-eyeing anyone who takes a sick day.
She’s in her 90s. The best example she could set is that it’s okay to prioritise your health over your job.
+1. There is nothing honorable about taking your virus to work with you.
It’s also the British government getting rid of all Covid protocol, the royals are just blindly following it. They truly cannot set a good example and are good for nothing.
I think that they had a call, even though she has a covid, because of the war in Europe. She’s still the head of state and they probably had to talk according to protocol. Her parents refused to leave London during the Second World war and I don’t think QE would let covid stop her now.
This. Putin invading a neighboring country exactly while the UN security council is meeting is a textbook example of when you have to call your Prime Minister, covid or not.
As much as I dislike the BRF, I do believe WWII and her dad’s actions at the time has had a huge impact on the queen and not just because her uncle was plotting to have them killed and retake the throne. She’d want to have an account of what the Parliament is planning to do.
YES! It’s okay to take time off work when you’re sick. You don’t have to keep powering thru and going to the office and getting everyone else sick. Things won’t fall apart if you take a few days off.
She needs to just declare Charles regent for now and go prop her feet up and get on with it. I know the monarch doesn’t have a lot of technical say in military matters, but ffs we’re about to be in WW3 with the Queen physically ill and on “light duty?” She’s 95 and sick, nobody will be mad if she unofficially “retires” or simply lets Charles take over the Ukraine stresses.
It’s Parliament’s problem, not Charles’
The monarchy isn’t getting involved in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Her children really need to step in and have a conversation with her minders.
Why would those idiots say she continues to keep a busy schedule when just yesterday she cancelled a virtual meeting? And now has cleared her schedule for the week. Idiots. This lends credence to the assumption that she is more ill than they let on.
she is absolutely more ill than they are letting on. if it were truly mild, they wouldn’t have made a peep. that they are forced to acknowledge it shows me that things are in fact bad. (plus, she is 95, and we know how terrible covid makes you feel.)
I wonder how Charles is doing. William must be salivating.
Good lord, how hard is it to recognize she needs fcking rest and issue a statement about that? Covid would take out anyone for at least a week, let alone a 95years old woman. Give it a rest already!
The only reason I can think of is because it’s much worse then they’re letting on. If she was really having “mild symptoms” they would say ok whatever…. I think they are in panic mode thus all the excuses/lies.
I don’t know, I think it’s their approach for everything ‘don’t be fazed, don’t comment, go on’. And it’s just idiotic.
These incompetents are who TQ is surrounded by? The absurd lies and constant backtracking means she is not doing well. They are desperate for positive PR but keep making things worse. And yes, they are in full panic mode. To be fair, considering the next 2 heirs, I completely understand.
Remember about five-ten years ago when everywhere your turned there were items with the “Keep Calm And Carry On” motif on them? Coffee mugs, throw pillows, signs, etc. I started to hate them. So when we went to Ireland, I bought a mug with the Irish version of that motto: “Feck It Sure It’s Grand.” I love that mug.
She’s 95 and ill. Just say she’s resting and recovering.
I wonder if the queen could be suffering from dementia. Maybe she’s lucid some days, others not so much. Perhaps Chuck has already become the unofficial regent. They are so secretive, I can only speculate.
These are very dangerous times for ALL of Western Europe and the UK. A sick 95 year-old monarch is not what is needed right now. William’s briefing by MI6 was necessary because as the Regent’s son (and I’m sure Charles is acting as unofficial regent now) he’s going to HAVE to put on his big boy pants now and show some work ethic. Europe is teetering on the brink of a long and horrific war while he sits and pouts, and his silly wife thinks she deserves a cookie because she went to Denmark for the day and slid down a slide. Time to grow up kids.
Where they pull that old pic out from? She’s not that plump anymore
Of course she’s getting over Covid. She has access to the most effective antivirals and best healthcare – something the rest of us ‘proles’ in the UK can only dream of. It sickens me that we have some corrupt old woman (who has lied, broken the ‘non meddling in parliament’ rule about the monarchy and stealth changed countless parliamentary laws to hide and grow her own wealth, at the expense of UK citizens, not to mention the nonce and that the heir is embroiled in his own cash for honours and access scandal.) given any kind of preferential treatment. Scrap the lot of them, I say. Until we get rid of the rot that’s the royal family, what chance do we have of ridding ourselves of the pathocracy running our country?
You can really see how bald William really is when he leans over dramatically to face the queen. All that beautiful, blond hair gone. It’s a judgment from the gods.