The Reason Queen Elizabeth Is Moving To Windsor Castle
Queen Elizabeth is making some serious changes to her schedule to avoid the coronavirus as it continues to spread around the world, creating a global pandemic. In light of the virus, the Queen is taking extra precautions by cancelling several events and even moving her place of residency earlier than planned. Buckingham Palace made an announcement on March 17, 2020, to notify the public of the Queen's changes. "As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, a number of changes are being made to The Queen's diary."
The official statement continued: "Audiences due to take place this week at Buckingham Palace will go ahead as planned. These include receiving the Prime Minister, the Commanding Officer of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and the Bishop of Hereford. Future Audiences will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the appropriate advice." The statement also touched on the Queen's imminent departure from Buckingham Palace. "Her Majesty will move to Windsor Castle for the Easter period on Thursday 19th March, one week earlier than planned. It is likely The Queen will stay there beyond the Easter period."
Additionally, the statement noted that, "In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, a number of public events with large numbers of people due to have been attended by The Queen, and other Members of the Royal Family, in the coming months will be cancelled or postponed." Three garden parties, which were to be held at Buckingham Palace, are among the cancelled events.
Other events at Buckingham Palace are up in the air
While some events have simply been cancelled, other events involving the Queen, including the "Trooping the Colour, the 75th anniversary of VE Day and the State Visit by the Emperor and Empress of Japan" are pending and a decision will be made "in consultation with Government," according to the official statement regarding changes to The Queen's diary.
The Queen isn't the only royal whose calendar is a bit up in the air at the moment. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were due to visit Bosnia and later Cyprus and Jordan for their "spring royal tour," per Entertainment Tonight. Needless to say, that trip has been cancelled.
Another royal event, Princess Beatrice's wedding, is scheduled for May 29, 2020. According to Page Six, there is no confirmed cancellation for the ceremony, which is expected to take place in St. James' Palace chapel with a reception to follow at Buckingham Palace. That being said, Beatrice's fiancé, financier Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, has been active on Twitter, talking about ways to fight the spread of coronavirus. Case in point? He shared the idea of letting the elderly shop for groceries before the rest of the public is allowed into stores, so they can shop in a freshly-cleaned supermarket.
A great idea just seen on Twitter. Would it be possible for the supermarkets to only allow elderly shoppers in first, so that they can shop before the rest of us, as the shops will be clean/disinfected, and before the shelves are all cleared. #elderlyhour
— Edo Mapelli Mozzi (@edomm) March 15, 2020
Judging from Mozzi's concern, we wouldn't be surprised if his and Beatrice's wedding was postponed. In the meantime, the queen will be self-quarantining in Windsor Castle.