Worker for the Queen at Buckingham Palace ‘contracts coronavirus’

A Buckingham Palace worker was diagnosed with coronavirus before the Queen left the capital for Windsor, reports suggest.

The Queen, 93, left London – with her faithful corgi-dachshund mix Candy on her lap – for her Easter break a week earlier than planned.

The aide tested positive for the bug – which has killed 233 and infected 5,018 in the UK alone – after falling ill last week, sources say.

The Buckingham Palace (pictured) worker tested positive for the bug – which has killed 233 and infected 5,018 in the UK alone – after falling ill last week, sources say

It is not yet known whether the infected staff member got close to the Queen, The Sun reports.

A source told the paper:  ‘The Palace has 500 members of staff so, like any workplace, it’s not inconceivable it would be affected in some stage.’ 

A Palace spokesperson said: ‘We wouldn’t comment on individual members of staff.

‘In line with the appropriate guidance and our own processes, we have taken the necessary actions to protect all employees and people involved.’

The Queen was joined at Windsor by her husband Prince Philip, 98, who travelled by helicopter from his home of Wood Farm at Sandringham in Norfolk, amid an anticipated lockdown of London.

Reports say Prince Philip (pictured on Christmas Eve last year leaving King Edward VII Hospital in London) has joined the Queen a week early to match her revised schedule, as she prepares to wait out the coronavirus crisis away from London

In a message to the nation, Her Majesty urged Britain to come together amid the coronavirus crisis and assured the country that the Royal Family is ready to ‘play its part’ in beating the deadly infection.

She praised medical workers, scientists and the emergency and public services who are fighting the pandemic, and stressed everyone has a ‘vitally important part to play as individuals’ – today and in the coming months. 

‘Many of us will need to find new ways of staying in touch with each other and making sure that loved ones are safe. I am certain we are up to that challenge,’ she said. ‘You can be assured that my family and I stand ready to play our part.’