Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus

Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Prince Charles emerges as the latest addition in the list of royals with coronavirus. A statement from Clarence House confirmed the condition of the 71-year-old heir to the British throne:

The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus.  He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.  The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus. In accordance with Government and medical advice, the Prince and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland.  The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.

It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks.

The Prince of Wales and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall are now quarantined at Birkall on the Balmoral estate in Scotland.  Buckingham Palace said the Queen last saw her son on 12 March, but also "remains in good health". The Queen, the palace added, "is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare".

The prince's last public engagement was on March 12, when he attended a Mansion House dinner hosted by William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and George Brandis, the High Commissioner for Australia, in aid of the Australian bushfire relief and recovery effort, BBC reports. Despite being in isolation, Charles has had held a number of private meetings with Highgrove and Duchy of Cornwall individuals, who were eventually told of the prince's condition. A number of household staff at Birkhall - the prince's residence on the Balmoral estate - are now self-isolating at their own homes.

A number of royals have already been positive for covid-19 including Prince Albert II of Monaco and Archduke Karl von Habsburg.