Queen Elizabeth's daughter-in-law, Sophie self-isolates at home after COVID-19 contact

Queen Elizabeth's daughter-in-law, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, is under home-quarantine after her potential exposure to COVID-19, the Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

Earlier this week, the Countess of Wessex came in contact with someone who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 and decided to self-isolate at home. Sophie, 55, is not experiencing any symptoms but is following all relevant government guidelines and has not been in contact with any other member of the royal family. Sophie, a former public relations executive, married Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son, Prince Edward, in 1999 and they have two children.

This is not the first time a member of the British royal family has had to self-isolate due to the risk of coronavirus. Earlier this year, both Prince Charles and Camilla quarantined themselves separately after Charles began experiencing mild symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 while Camilla tested negative. The Prince of Wales has since fully recovered from the disease.

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All events at Buckingham Palace cancelled 

On October 2, UK’s Buckingham Palace announced that all events scheduled to be held at Windsor Castle and the palace are now cancelled with due effect in midst of the rising caseload of the coronavirus in the UK. According to the statement, all large scale events that gather crowd were called off for the rest of the year under her majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s instructions. The royal family’s official website also mentioned that the events such as the receptions and investitures will not be held in the palace due to the pandemic. 

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“In line with current government guidelines, and as a sensible precaution in the current circumstances, there will be no large scale events held at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle for the rest of this year,” the official statement from Buckingham Palace read.

Further, it stated that the Queen will return to the Windsor Castle in October and will resume Buckingham Palace’s Autumn programme of Audiences and engagements with adherence to the UK government’s advisory and health safety guidelines. The palace notified about the cancellation of the events of 2020, informing the attendees in advance that “Due to the large numbers of guests and recipients attending, it was not possible to find a way of safely delivering these events in the current circumstances.” It also mentioned that the palace staff will contact the recipients directly. 

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