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BORIS Johnson held his weekly audience with the Queen via telephone tonight - hours after it was revealed Prince Charles had been struck down by coronavirus.

The 71-year-old royal tested positive for the killer bug on Monday night after he began to display mild symptoms but the Palace say he remains in "good health".

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 The Queen spoke with the PM after son Charles tested positive for the virus
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The Queen spoke with the PM after son Charles tested positive for the virus

The Queen and Prince Philip are now self-isolating at Windsor Castle in line with government guidance for the over-90s, a palace spokesman revealed.

The royal family tweeted tonight: "The Queen held her weekly Audience with the Prime Minister today by telephone.

"Her Majesty - pictured this evening at Windsor Castle - has held a weekly Audience with her Prime Minister throughout her reign."

The tweet included a photo of the Monarch dressed in sky blue on an old fashioned telephone in her Berkshire royal residence sitting next to statues of her beloved corgis.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Queen’s audiences with the PM will be held over the phone for the foreseeable future.

Buckingham Palace never comments on what the monarch and the PM discussed during their weekly meetings - normally held in the evening following PM's Questions in the House of Commons.

However, it's reported the Queen has thanked the army of 405,000 Brits who have volunteered to help the NHS and vulnerable people fight the virus.

The Prince of Wales has become the highest profile coronavirus case in the country.

 Boris spoke to the Monarch while she was in lockdown at Windsor Castle
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Boris spoke to the Monarch while she was in lockdown at Windsor Castle

He is displaying "mild symptoms" of the Covid-19 illness but is in good health and spirits as he self-isolates at Birkhall in Scotland, a spokesman said.

A source added "medical advice is that it is unlikely to escalate into a more serious case".

The Duchess of Cornwall, 72, who is also at Birkhall, in Aberdeenshire, has tested negative for the virus, so is separating herself from the prince.

The couple were tested by the NHS in Aberdeenshire on Monday, but SNP politician Joan McAlpine, a Member of

Medical experts believe the earliest Charles would have been contagious was March 13.

However, new research has found that symptoms could take up to 11 days to appear, meaning he could have potentially been infectious a day earlier, when he met the Queen 'briefly'.

This is very much a worst-case scenario, with the average incubation period of Covid-19 being 5.1 days.

A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US found that almost all (97.5 per cent) of those who develop symptoms appeared to do so within 11.5 days of infection.

 Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, pictured here at his most recent appearance at an Australian bushfire relief event on March 12
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Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, pictured here at his most recent appearance at an Australian bushfire relief event on March 12Credit: Getty Images - Getty
 Prince Charles, seen at the Commonwealth Service earlier this month, last saw the Queen on March 12
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Prince Charles, seen at the Commonwealth Service earlier this month, last saw the Queen on March 12Credit: PA:Press Association
 Prince Charles greets Ant and Dec at the London Palladium on March 11
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Prince Charles greets Ant and Dec at the London Palladium on March 11Credit: Getty - Pool
 Prince Charles saw the Queen a day before becoming contagious with coronavirus
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Prince Charles saw the Queen a day before becoming contagious with coronavirusCredit: Getty Images

Preliminary studies also demonstrate that only a small portion of individuals with Covid-19 — 17.9 percent — are asymptomatic - meaning they do not show any symptoms.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK's chief scientific adviser, said: "It looks quite likely that there is some degree of asymptomatic transmission.

"There’s definitely quite a lot of transmission very early in the disease when there are very mild symptoms."

Research by Chinese government medical advisers has also revealed that the incubation period for coronavirus could be up to 24 days.

It is believed Prince Charles suffered mild symptoms over the weekend while at Highgrove House in Gloucester and flew privately to Scotland on Sunday night where he was tested on Monday.

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 Scientists have produced a day-by-day breakdown of the typical Covid-19 symptoms
Scientists have produced a day-by-day breakdown of the typical Covid-19 symptoms

 

 Prince Charles, seen at the Commonwealth Service earlier this month, last saw the Queen on March 12
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Prince Charles, seen at the Commonwealth Service earlier this month, last saw the Queen on March 12Credit: PA:Press Association

Camilla, 72, tested negative for the virus, with the couple now self-isolating at their home in Balmoral, Scotland.

Clarence House added: "In accordance with Government and medical advice, the Prince and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland.

"The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.

“It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks."

The royal met with Prince Albert of Monaco, who later tested positive for coronavirus, on March 10.

 

 

The Prince had been avoiding shaking hands with members of the public at a number of events recently, instead choosing to use the namaste gesture.

He last appeared in public with the Queen, along with princes William and Harry and other senior royals, at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 9.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "Her Majesty the Queen remains in good health.

"The Queen last saw the Prince of Wales briefly after the investiture on the morning of the 12th March and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare."

They would not comment on whether the Queen has been tested for coronavirus.

Prince William remains in Norfolk meaning the heirs to the throne are not in physical contact.

It comes as the UK death toll hit 422 yesterday in the biggest daily leap of fatalities.

 Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, pictured here at his most recent appearance at an Australian bushfire relief event on March 12
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Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, pictured here at his most recent appearance at an Australian bushfire relief event on March 12Credit: Getty Images - Getty
 Prince Charles greets Ant and Dec at the London Palladium on March 11
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Prince Charles greets Ant and Dec at the London Palladium on March 11Credit: Getty - Pool
 Prince Charles is seen opposite the Prince of Monaco on March 10
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Prince Charles is seen opposite the Prince of Monaco on March 10
 Prince Charles had been avoiding shaking hands during the pandemic
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Prince Charles had been avoiding shaking hands during the pandemicCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Dr Hilary says Prince Charles 'not out the woods yet' as he questions how heir to the throne secured a COVID 19 test
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