Queen postpones two royal visits as 'precaution' amid coronavirus outbreak

'Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis,' statement reads

Sabrina Barr
Friday 13 March 2020 16:37 GMT
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Buckingham Palace has announced that upcoming engagements for the Queen have been postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

A statement shared by the royal family said that as a “sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, changes are being made to the Queen‘s diary commitments in the coming weeks”.

“In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, Her Majesty’s forthcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden will be rescheduled,” the statement reads.

“Audiences will continue as usual. Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in line with the appropriate advice.”

In the past 24 hours, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has risen to 798.

The Department of Health stated that as of 9am on Friday 13 March, more than 32,000 people across the country had been tested for the virus.

More than 97 per cent of those tested came back with negative results.

Earlier this month, the Queen was pictured wearing large white gloves during an investiture at Buckingham Palace.

The monarch does not typically wear gloves for the ceremony, as it requires her to hand out honours and fasten awards onto recipients’ clothing.

This led to speculation that she was wearing the gloves as a precautionary measure in light of the spread of the coronavirus.

Buckingham Palace declined to confirm to The Independent whether this was the reason behind her decision to wear gloves for the engagement.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in