London: For the first time since the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, Queen Elizabeth II was seen donning a face mask in public. Notably, the Queen was attending a brief ceremony at Westminster Abbey last week to mark the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior.
Over the last few months, the 94-year-old monarch was spotted in public on several occasions but she wasn’t seen wearing a mask until now. The white and black mask donned by her was created by the Queen’s personal adviser and curator, Angela Kelly, who designs many of the monarch’s outfits.
“The Queen marked the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey this week, in a personal tribute ahead of Remembrance Sunday,” the palace stated in their press statement about her public appearance.
“It was wonderful to see Her Majesty in such good spirits and good health. We talked about the centenary and the life of the abbey. This is the place where she was married and she’s conscious of those associations,” Dr. David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster, said after the service.
In October, Queen Elizabeth appeared at her first royal engagement since the start of the pandemic but did not wear a face mask. Buckingham Palace said the Queen decided not to wear a mask after consulting her own medics and scientists at Porton Down.
Last week, reports surfaced that Britain’s Prince William had contracted the Covid-19 infection in April, around the time his father Prince Charles did. The Sun newspaper reported that Prince William kept his coronavirus diagnosis a secret as he didn’t want to alarm the country.