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Prince Charles tests positive for Covid for second time after recently meeting Queen

The Queen spent time in person with the Prince of Wales "recently", a palace source has confirmed, after the Prince tested positive for Covid-19 today.

The Queen is not displaying any symptoms herself, but Buckingham Palace declined to say whether she had tested positive citing medical privacy. 

She is understood to have met the Prince in person this week, after she celebrated reaching 70 years on the throne. 

The Queen returned to Windsor Castle from Sandringham on Monday. The Prince was at the castle on Tuesday to conduct a day of investitures. 

A royal source told PA that the situation will continue to be monitored, but a running commentary would not be provided on the monarch's health.

It is the second time Prince Charles has contracted Covid and he is now self-isolating, Clarence House has said on Twitter.

A message on the prince's official Twitter page read: "This morning The Prince of Wales has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now self-isolating.

"HRH is deeply disappointed not to be able to attend today's events in Winchester and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible."

Aides said the prince was found to be positive during a routine test - which suggested he was experiencing no strong symptoms - but they declined to go into further details on his medical condition.

Last night, the Prince of Wales attended an event to celebrate the British Asian Trust at The British Museum with Home Secretary Priti Patel, Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

POOL/REUTERS Prince of Wales tests positive for Covid-19 for second time - POOL/REUTERS

Both the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall have been taking regular tests before engagements. The Duchess of Cornwall has tested negative for Covid-19 today, Clarence House has confirmed.

A spokesman said: "The Duchess of Cornwall has routinely tested negative today. She is on a separate series of engagements from the Prince of Wales."

It has not yet been confirmed whether the Prince has seen the Queen in person in recent days. 

She returned to Windsor Castle on Monday. He spent his working day at the castle on Tuesday, holding investitures. 

The announcement of the Prince’s positive test was made just after midday, around 12 minutes before Prince Charles, 73, was due to arrive in Winchester on a visit to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Staff there were only informed a few moments before.

More than 1,000 people were gathered behind barriers in the city’s Jewry Street, waiting to see the Prince unveil a new statue of Licoricia of Winchester, a prominent Jewish moneylender who was murdered in 1277 during a period of antisemitism in the reign of Edward I that culminated in the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290.

Provided by The Telegraph Prince of Wales tests positive for Covid-19 for second time - POOL/REUTERS

The Queen’s representative in Hampshire, the Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson, told the crowd, who groaned with disappointment when he relayed the news. 

It is the second time the heir to the throne, 73, has contracted coronavirus, after he fell ill in March 2020 when he said he had been "lucky" to have suffered only mild symptoms.

He spent seven days in self-isolation at his Birkhall home in Scotland before resuming his duties.

The development comes just days after the Queen marked her Platinum Jubilee by expressing her "sincere wish" that the Duchess of Cornwall would be Queen Camilla at Charles's side when he is one day King.

The Duchess, meanwhile, carried on with her engagements on Thursday, visiting Paddington Haven, a sexual assault referral centre in West London, where she met former Love Island star Zara McDermott and discussed her experience of revenge porn and assault.