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The Queen’s upcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Heir to the throne the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have already pulled out of their spring overseas tour just days before it was due to begin, raising the prospect that more royal engagements could face cancellation in the coming weeks.
The Queen, 93, was due to visit the Bentley Motors Factory in Crewe, and the Jodrell Bank Observatory and Square Kilometre Array Global Headquarters in Macclesfield on March 19.
She was also due to visit Camden on March 26 but full details of the trip had not yet been released.
Charles and Camilla had been due to start their spring tour to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Jordan on March 17. It would have marked the first time a royal has visited Cyprus since the Queen in 1993.
The Queen (pictured at Westminster Abbey last week) was due to visit the Bentley Motors Factory in Crewe, and the Jodrell Bank Observatory and Square Kilometre Array Global Headquarters in Macclesfield on March 19. Her visits have now been postponed
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attend the Commonwealth Day reception on March 9
Buckingham Palace today announced that the Queen’s upcoming visits would not go ahead ‘as a sensible precaution’ and ‘for practical reasons’ over concerns about coronavirus
A spokesman for the Queen said: ‘As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, changes are being made to The Queen’s diary commitments in the coming weeks.
‘In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, Her Majesty’s forthcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden will be rescheduled.
‘Audiences will continue as usual. Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in line with the appropriate advice.’
The Queen – the nation’s longest reigning monarch – is due to turn 94 next month and the risk of more severe symptoms from the Covid-19 illness is greater for the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.
The day of engagements next Thursday would have seen the monarch travel to Cheshire to meet staff and apprentices at the Bentley factory, operate the Lovell Telescope at the observatory and meet local school children engaging in hands on science activities.
The Queen wore large gloves when she handed out honours to recipients at a palace investiture on March 3.
The Queen, who has carried out investitures since 1952, wore gloves for the first time at a Buckingham Palace investiture as she handed an MBE to D-Day veteran Harry Billinge earlier this month
She also avoided shaking hands at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey and during a one-to-one audience with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner this week, but was back shaking hands with Professor Mark Compton, Lord Prior of the Order of St John, on Wednesday.
It comes as The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall today revealed they would postpone their spring tour of the coronavirus pandemic.
The overall week-long visit had been due to start on March 17 and would have marked the first time a royal has visited Cyprus since the Queen in 1993.
Clarence House said the request came from the Government. Heir to the throne Charles and Camilla are understood to be in good health.
The tour may be replaced with engagements in the UK, but not those involving significant gatherings of people.
Charles was set to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 17 and 18, be joined by Camilla in Cyprus from March 18 to 21, and head to Jordan together until March 25.
‘Owing to the unfolding situation with the coronavirus pandemic the British government has asked their royal highnesses to postpone their Spring tour,’ a spokesman for the royal couple said today.
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (seen in Auckland last November) will visit the Republic of Cyprus next month, to recognise the work of the UN Peacekeeping Force and celebrate traditional Cypriot culture
While in Jordan, the pair would have met meet King Abdallah II and Queen Rania of Jordan (pictured) and taken in a number of other sites of cultural, religious and environmental significance across the country
While in Jordan, the pair would have met meet King Abdallah II and Queen Rania of Jordan and taken in a number of other sites of cultural, religious and environmental significance across the country.
And in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Charles would have seen the memorial at Srebrenica to mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide.
Cyprus, which has a population of 1.17 million, announced four more COVID19 cases today taking the total to 14. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are thought to be 11 confirmed cases.
Announcing news of their tour in February, they wrote: ‘The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will jointly visit the Republic of Cyprus and Jordan next month.
‘Prior to this, The Prince will also visit Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the year of the 25th anniversary of the genocide, The Prince will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina where he will highlight reforms to improve citizens’ lives.
‘The Prince and The Duchess will make their first official visit to The Republic of Cyprus to recognise the work of the UN Peacekeeping Force and celebrate traditional Cypriot culture.
‘Their Royal Highnesses will visit The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to learn what the country is doing to support refugees and showcase its rich cultural history.’
Charles was due to start the tour by visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina to demonstrate the UK’s increased commitment to BiH and the Western Balkans region, its support for reforms to improve citizens’ lives.
Baroness Floella Benjamin, 70, received her damehood at Buckingham Palace today from Prince Charles, both pictured. The pair exchanged a Namaste greeting (right)
A careful greeting! The Prince of Wales was seen using a Namaste gesture to greet television presenters Ant McPartlin (left)and Declan Donnelly as he arrived at the annual Prince’s Trust Awards 2020 this week
The Prince of Wales was then to be joined by the Duchess of Cornwall on March 18, as they visit to The Republic of Cyprus to celebrate the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Cyprus.
The last leg of the tour was set to see Charles and Camilla return to Jordan from March 21 to March 25, to highlight their close ties with Jordan, underpinned by the long-standing, warm relationship between the two Royal Families.
The couple would see how the country supports its one million refugees fleeing conflict, and meet members of the Jordanian Royal Family.
The news comes after Charles shared a Namaste bow with Baroness Floella Benjamin yesterday amid the coronavirus pandemic, as she collected her damehood at Buckingham Palace.
The pair were spotted exchanging the greeting, which avoids any unnecessary touching of hands, during the investiture ceremony.
Known to millions as the host of Play School and Play Away, Baroness Benjamin, a beloved children’s TV presenter, was recognised for her services to charity in the New Year Honours List.
The Liberal Democrat life peer has dedicated over 40 years to campaigning for young people and supports charities including Barnardo’s, Sickle Cell Society and Beating Bowel Cancer.
At the beginning of the month the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were still seen greeting people with a traditional handshake during a tour of the London Transport Museum to mark 20 years of Transport for London
After receiving her damehood, the 70-year-old, from London, said: ‘You get such a buzz from giving back and making a difference, changing the world, and to get an honour like this after these years it’s like wonderful recognition.
‘Today, it’s giving me a wonderful feeling in my heart. I haven’t done charity work for any ulterior motive but only to change people’s lives.
‘To get it, it is like wow, how exciting. But I’m still thinking: what more can I do? To me, it doesn’t end here.’
A ‘huge admirer’ of Prince Charles, Baroness Benjamin said she was ‘thrilled’ to receive her damehood from him yesterday.
Charles is not the first royal to take precautions, with the Duchess of Cornwall wearing a pair of leather gloves to shake hands with people she met at Cheltenham this week
But the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Philips didn’t seem to have let the threat of the outbreak faze her, as she dished out hugs at the racecourse.
Confirming the news on their Clarence House Instagram on the 25 February, Clarence House had written: ‘The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will jointly visit the Republic of Cyprus and Jordan next month’
Prince Charles, 71, and Camilla, 72, were also due to tour Jordan, where they would have met King Abdallah II and Queen Rania of Jordan (seen in France last March) to take in a number of other sites of cultural, religious and environmental significance across the country
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