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The Queen is isolating with 22 others in lockdown
Not even the royal family is exempt from the life-altering measures the coronavirus pandemic has caused. Along with the rest of the country, Their Royal Highnesses have all entered lockdown, remaining at home to minimise spread of the virus. But with so many homes to choose from, which royal residence has Queen Elizabeth been isolating in?
Ever since she put a stop to all her regular face-to-face meetings back in March, Queen Elizabeth has been shielding along with Prince Philip in Windsor Castle. The couple spend every Easter at the residence, but retreated there early this year for safety, and when official lockdown measures came into force more than nine weeks ago, she has stayed ever since.
But according to The Sun, Her Majesty and Prince Philip are not alone at Windsor. The royals apparently have 22 members of staff there alongside them, helping to keep the household running, although this hasn't been confirmed by the Queen's office. But at 94 and 98, if that is the case then it's fair enough to expect that Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh will need a helping hand to keep that massive castle running.
In keeping with the lockdown rules, any staff members who are isolating alongside them at Windsor Castle will not be able to return home, so they'll have remained on-site permanently since the pandemic first unfolded.
"They won’t be seeing their families because no risks can be taken and they can’t go in and out," an insider reportedly said. "The most important thing is to protect the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh from the virus. If something happened to them, it doesn’t bear thinking about."
The virus is understood to pose far more danger to older members of the population, and being in their nineties, that places Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip firmly in a high risk category. Her son and heir, Prince Charles, was struck down by COVID-19 at the end of March, however after self-isolating at home in Scotland he made a full recovery.
It was recently suggested that, after lockdown is lifted, the Queen may not return to her previous royal duties. According to royal biographer Andrew Morton, the monarch may never return to royal work as she has known it because of the high risk involved.
"It’s terribly sad but I can’t see how the Queen can resume her usual job. The COVID-19 virus isn’t going away soon and will be with us for months, if not years. It would be far too risky for the Queen to start meeting people on a regular basis," the expert hypothesised.
Adding that, although Queen Elizabeth has always enjoyed the part of her role that exposes her to new people, he acknowledged she simply "can’t take the risk" during these times.
"How can she carry out investitures, meet ambassadors, do walkabouts and visit places without meeting people at close range? If she gets the bug, it could be fatal and would put Prince Philip at risk," posed the royal biographer.
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