Queen could be asked to wear a face mask as a 'role model'
The Queen should be asked to wear a face mask to set an example to Britons, according to a government adviser.
Face coverings will be made compulsory in shops in England from 24 July, following weeks of mixed messages and a cabinet split on their effectiveness in preventing the spread of coronavirus.
As the government prepares to enforce them, an adviser has suggested they should make use of popular figures to help encourage Britons to wear them.
According to The Times, Professor Robert West, a member of the government’s SPI-B behavioural science advisory group, said: “David Attenborough and the Queen, that’s who they want.
“I’m surprised how little use has been made of role models.”
The Queen, 94, has been isolating in Windsor Castle since mid-March, spending the longest amount of time in her Berkshire home for some years.
Read more: Boy, 7, sends Queen a word search in case she's 'feeling sad or lonely'
She has released video messages and taken part in virtual engagements as she seeks to play her role in lifting the country’s spirits.
She would usually be in Balmoral in Scotland for her summer break by this time of year, but it’s not clear yet whether she will be able to go there.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has hinted she would impose travel restrictions on England if necessary to stop the virus spreading.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen would continue to follow government advice in regards to coronavirus.
Prince William, her grandson, and the Countess of Wessex, her daughter-in-law, have been seen wearing masks in the UK, while on official engagements.
Read more: 100 things the Royal Family has done in 100 days of lockdown
William wore a mask in Oxford as he visited the team developing a vaccine for COVID-19, and Sophie has been seen wearing masks and gloves where necessary for her volunteer work.
However the royals have kept the bulk of their in-person engagements outside, meaning they are not required to wear them.
The Queen was seen wearing gloves at one of her investitures back in March before lockdown was implemented in the UK, and the Royal Family has been avoiding handshakes for several months.
She was able to attend a scaled down version of her official birthday celebration, Trooping the Colour, but it’s not known when she might return to more in-person engagements.
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