Coronavirus: Queen social distances from the PM during weekly audience
The monarch is pictured using an old fashioned telephone at Windsor Castle while speaking to Boris Johnson at Downing Street.
Thursday 26 March 2020 05:12, UK
The coronavirus outbreak has not been able to stop the Queen from holding her weekly audience with the prime minister.
She was pictured using an old fashioned telephone at Windsor Castle while talking to Boris Johnson, who was speaking to her from his Downing Street office.
The photographs - which show the 93-year-old monarch in a room adorned with ornaments including a china corgi - were posted to the Royal Family Twitter account on Wednesday.
"The Queen held her weekly Audience with the Prime Minister today by telephone," the tweet said.
"Her Majesty - pictured this evening at Windsor Castle - has held a weekly audience with her Prime Minister throughout her reign."
The Queen also held her weekly audience with the prime minister over the phone last week.
They usually take place on Wednesday evenings - after Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons - but this can vary depending on if either the Queen or the prime minister are away.
In these circumstances, it will either be rescheduled or they will speak on the phone.
The latest photos come on the same day Clarence House announced Prince Charles, 71, had tested positive for coronavirus.
The royal displayed "mild symptoms" on Sunday and was then tested on Monday, with the results coming through late on Tuesday night, a spokesperson said.
Charles "otherwise remains in good health" and has been self-isolating in Scotland with the Duchess of Cornwall, who has tested negative for coronavirus.
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The statement said the prince was now "working from home" after his test which was "carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing".
Buckingham Palace said the Queen, who is staying with the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, at Windsor Castle, was in good health and following government advice.
"Her majesty the Queen remains in good health," said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.
"The Queen last saw the Prince of Wales briefly after the investiture on the morning of March 12 and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare."
The Queen is expected to make a public address to the nation in the coming weeks and pay tribute to health workers and those who have lost their lives to the disease.