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Queen “will continue to receive medical attention”
Queen Elizabeth II has COVID-19, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday. The 95-year-old monarch is the third royal after her son Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to test positive in recent weeks.
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The palace announced that she has mild cold-like symptoms and is self isolating.
Speculation over the queen’s health was amplified on Feb. 17 when she told members of the royal household that she could not move easily. She had been in contact with her son Prince Charles the day before he tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time.
There are few families that have been untouched by the coronavirus over the past two years, but until Sunday morning it appeared that the royal family had successfully managed to keep the disease out of the confines of Windsor Castle, where Her Majesty has been sheltering from the virus for much of the past two years.
Given that the queen is turning 96 in April, it would have been remiss if extensive measures were not in place. But unfortunately for the royal family, their aides and their medical advisors, despite extensive protocols to keep the queen protected, she now has COVID.
Attention will likely turn to a visit almost two weeks ago by Prince Charles, who visited Her Majesty while she was down in London at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, February 8. Sources at Buckingham Palace hinted to the Daily Beast that Charles was not the source of the queen’s infection, saying that a number of cases had been detected among staff at Windsor Castle.
The signs so far are that the queen, who is also understood to be triple vaccinated, is not severely ill. Buckingham Palace said that she would continue working, with “light duties” being carried out from her home at Windsor this week.
“Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week,” the Palace said in a press statement. “She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all appropriate guidelines.”
The diagnosis will certainly fuel ongoing anxieties about Britain’s longest reigning monarch’s health. Although she initially appeared to bounce back well from the bereavement of her beloved husband Prince Philip’s death, she has been struck with a series of illnesses and health conditions and health scares in the ensuing months. She even spent a night in hospital, and has been forced to cancel almost all in-person engagements.
Prince Andrew’s secret night time visits to queen
The shortage of photographs of Prince Andrew driving through Windsor Great Park to visit his mother at Windsor Castle has been notable in recent days, with reports that Charles has instructed his brother to stop making the trip, which is paparazzi fodder, doing the rounds. Now, however, an explanation arrives courtesy of the Sun.
Andrew, who settled his legal battle with Virginia Roberts Giuffre earlier this week, has been going to see the queen, only under cover of darkness. Indeed, the Sun goes as far as to claim he has made the trip “every night” last week, with a source saying: “Andrew has been very careful and is trying to keep out of sight. He knows there are photographers in the daytime and his best chance to avoid them is after dark.”
Intriguingly the Sun says that Andrew, who is reportedly contrite and has apologized to his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, is considering a move to America. A source said: “Andrew has been in turmoil about the whole thing.”
The Sun also adds that Andrew has been motivated to “reach out to Harry about life outside the firm.” Given that Harry’s only known comment on Andrew was when he told Russian pranksters posing as Greta Thunberg and her dad that he and Meghan had nothing to do with him, one imagines it was a fairly brief and one-sided interaction.
In another, predictable sign of Prince Andrew’s newfound invisibility, no royals publicly wished Andrew a happy 62nd birthday yesterday, although the Sun reported that flowers and cards were spotted being delivered to his home, Royal Lodge.
Harry tried to keep legal fight secret: report
Prince Harry didn’t want anyone to know about his effort to legally force the British police to offer him protective services when he was on British soil, the Mail on Sunday reports, but the Home Office prevailed with an argument that there was no compelling “public interest” in departing from the principal of “open justice.”
Harry has come in for a battering in the courts this week after government lawyers accused him of showing insufficient “respect” to the Home Office and disputed his argument that he had offered to pay for his own police protection, saying: “The offer [to pay] is now advanced in the Claimant's witness statement...but notably was not advanced … in June 2021 or in any of the pre-action correspondence which followed.”
The offer to pay was anyhow rejected as “irrelevant” as state protection is not available for commercial hire. Critics have accused Harry of wanting to buy police protection like “a packet of biscuits.” Harry told the court he did not feel safe visiting the U.K. without police protection and is now considered unlikely to attend Prince Philip’s memorial service next month with sources telling the Mail on Sunday: “They don't think it’s likely he'll come back because it would undermine his position that it’s too much of a threat.”
Harry said no to Saudi billionaire, but did his dad?
The ongoing gale of headlines around Andrew’s settlement with Giuffre mostly obscured the other major royal scandal engulfing Buckingham Palace—the announcement of an official police investigation into the alleged promise of a CBE to Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz made by Prince Charles’ office after he gave 1.5 million pounds to Charles’ charities.
Charles’ top aide is at the center of inquiries into the so-called cash-for-access scandal, though the palace insists Charles had “no knowledge of the alleged offer of honors on the basis of donation to his charities.”
Mahfouz was presented with the CBE by Charles in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2016.
Leaked emails, published in the U.K. Sunday Times, now reveal that Prince Harry, seemingly had a sense of caution around Mahfouz that his father—who met Mahfouz a number of times—or his father’s aides, did not. Michael Fawcett, Charles’ most trusted onetime aide, wrote to Mahfouz’s aides to say he would be “very happy” to back Mahfouz getting the honor.
A source told the Sunday Times: “The key question is ‘Did [Charles] know?’ Do the police believe there was any collusion between Fawcett and others?”
The Times reports that Harry’s association with Mahfouz began in 2014 after hearing the billionaire might be open to donating £1 million (approx. $1.36 million) to his African-based children’s charity Sentebale. Alarm bells rang when Mahfouz’s reps made clear the billionaire wanted Harry to visit him and his family in Saudi Arabia as a precondition for the donation being made.
In emails, Mark Dyer, a Sentebale trustee, writes about concern that such a request “is starting to bring into question ‘cash-for-access.’” Mahfouz’s rep said the idea for Harry’s visit had first been raised at a meeting with his father, Charles.
Dyer responded: “The POW [Prince of Wales] obviously mentioned it in passing conversation; that does not mean PH (Prince Harry) comes next week. He is keen for his son to see that part of the world, but not next week. What has now happened is a promise of a £1m donation but it now comes with a commitment to a visit ... that was not my understanding...”
Dyer added that the idea of Prince Harry being “held over a barrel” in the deal would be “wrong.” Later, Mahfouz gave £50,000 (approximately $68,000) to Sentebale—not £1 million, and Harry never visited Mahfouz and his family in Saudi Arabia.
The Mail says Harry could be quizzed by detectives looking in to the case.
The Times reports, “The Fawcett letter now being scrutinized by police shows that the donor was initially in line to receive an honorary OBE — but that the award was later upgraded,” to CBE. As well as Fawcett, the police may also interview Clive Alderton, Charles’s private secretary.
A source described as knowing Charles well told the Sunday Times: “It is not a good look for him and terrible timing in the jubilee year but it won’t do lasting damage to the monarchy. This is a mess entirely of Fawcett’s making. The prince’s heart is in the right place, he wants to do the best he possibly can for his charities. But he has been reshaping some of his charities to clear space for his future role, and this will only hasten that process.”
Queen “distressed” by recent royal headlines
Prior to today’s revelation of her COVI-19 diagnosis, the U.K. Sunday Times reports that the events of the last few days— Andrew’s $14 million settlement with Giuffre, the police investigation into Charles, and Prince Harry’s fight with the Home Office over his family’s security—has “shaken the monarchy” and, according to an insider proved to be “a distressing experience and double blow” for the queen in the year of the platinum jubilee.
“She could do without it,” the source said. “The Andrew scandal will leave a permanent stain on him and she knows it reflects on the whole family.”
The Times also revealed an alternative nursery rhyme made up within palace walls. “The grand old Duke of York, he had 12 million quid. He gave it to someone he’d never met, for something he never did.”
A courtier said that “the Andrew issue is never going to be completely behind us, the settlement boxes up a number of issues and we’ve just got to move on. As painful as it has been, it is a lot less painful than a court case.”
A source close to Andrew says of his appearance on March 29 at the memorial service for Prince Philip: “He is entitled to support his mother as her son but he won’t have any formal role at the jubilee.” Andrew’s life now “revolves mostly around the companionship of his loyal former wife, the Duchess of York, and visits from their daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie,” the Sunday Times said.
“It is too early to say what his life will look like in the future,” a source close to Andrew said. “He is remorseful, particularly about the impact it has had on his mother and his family. There is genuine regret he was ever involved with (Jeffrey) Epstein.”
“It’s not particularly buoyant at the moment, morale is low, it has been such a grim year,” a source told the Sunday Times of the mood at the palace.
“It is really important the jubilee goes brilliantly,” they added, “to remind us of the love and esteem the public have for the Queen, the widespread support in this country for the institution, and the ability of the monarchy and the occupant of the throne to bring people together… it feels a little like we want to have a good party, but no one is quite in the mood. But after all of this negative stuff, people are determined to make it a good year for the big boss.”
Andrew’s friend sought “diet” on Giuffre
One of Prince Andrew’s few remaining public supporters, his old friend Lady Victoria Hervey, has been accused of sending a social media message seeking kompromat on Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Maria Farmer, who has also accused Epstein of abusing her. Lady V’s twitter account was used to send a message to author Kirby Sommers, reading: “Hey wondering if you have any diet (sic) for me on Maria or Virginia…any help would be appreciated.” Sommers replied swiftly and unambiguously, calling Andrew a “fat disgusting pig” and refusing to help. Lady V told the Mail on Sunday she “mistook” Sommers for someone else, adding, “I never use Twitter. Had an intern do it, hence all the typos.”
Harry renews Frogmore lease
Prince Harry has renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor home given to him and Meghan by the queen, which became the centre of controversy when it was revealed £2.4 million was spent renovating it for the couple who hardly lived there. The Telegraph reports that by keeping a U.K. address, Prince Harry will be able to retain his last remaining constitutional role as “Counsellor of State”, one of four adults automatically able to act for the queen if she is unable to. The others are Prince Charles, Prince William and, er, Prince Andrew, who cannot be removed from the role without legislation. Princess Eugenie and family are currently thought to be living at Frogmore Cottage.
This week in royal history
On February 24, 1981, 41 years ago, Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their engagement—and Charles said something so ghastly that it still rings doomily down the years. “You both look very much in love,” their interviewer says. Diana replies (looking down), “Oh, yes. Absolutely.” Charles says, “Whatever ‘in love’ means.”
Unanswered questions
How is the queen, and will she survive this latest health scare?
