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Queen Elizabeth is taking precautionary measures when it comes to the coronavirus. Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that the 93-year-old monarch will be heading to Windsor Castle ahead of schedule. “Her Majesty will move to Windsor Castle for the Easter period on Thursday 19th March, one week earlier than planned,” the statement read. “It is likely The Queen will stay there beyond the Easter period.” Several changes have been made to the royal’s schedule “as a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances.”
While all audiences at Buckingham Palace will move forward as planned this week, future audiences will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and in line with the appropriate advice. However, after consultation with the medical household and government, a number of public events attended by the Queen and royal family members have been canceled or postponed, including the annual Maundy Service at St. George’s Chapel and Her Majesty’s garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
Two additional garden parties given for the Not Forgotten Association and the National Trust will also not take place, and investitures will be rearranged to later dates. As for whether the Queen’s royal-studded birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, will take place, as well as the 75th anniversary of VE Day and the State Visit by the Emperor and Empress of Japan will be determined in due course and in consultation with the UK government.
Queen Elizabeth isn’t the only monarch social distancing in a castle. On Tuesday, the Dutch Royal House revealed that King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their three daughters are practicing social distancing after it was revealed that there are five confirmed cases of coronavirus in Lech, Austria, where the royals enjoyed a ski holiday late last month. The monarchs and Princesses do not “have any health complaints,” despite the precautionary measure. The Dutch royal family appeared to be in good spirits in a video released on March 17. Maxima and her brood were filmed applauding “all care workers, to support them in their fight against the coronavirus and their commitment to the health of everyone in the Netherlands.”