Duchess Camilla tests positive for COVID days after Prince Charles

Duchess Camilla has tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19, just four days after her husband, Prince Charles, tested positive for the virus a second time.

Camilla is self-isolating, Charles and Camilla’s official royal residence told the Associated Press.

USA TODAY has reached out to Clarence House for further comment.

Charles, the 73-year-old heir to the British throne, began isolating Thursday after testing positive. On the evening prior to testing positive, he and Duchess Camilla, 74, attended a reception at the British Museum for the British Asian Trust, a charity the prince founded in 2007, to support communities in South Asia.

The palace has not released details on Charles or Camilla’s conditions, or whether either had recently met with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

On Thursday, the same day Charles tested positive, Camilla carried on with her engagements as scheduled, making appearances at a sexual assault referral center and a food poverty charity, both in London, and a criminal justice organization just outside the city. The appearances were held almost entirely indoors; Camilla was only photographed wearing a mask during part of one visit.

The news comes as Camilla steps further into the spotlight among the royal family: On the eve of the 70th anniversary of her accession to the British throne, Queen Elizabeth II said in a a message of gratitude to her people and to her family that her “sincere wish” is that Duchess Camilla of Cornwall will be known as ”Queen Consort” when Prince Charles succeeds her.

“And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service,” her message read, according to the statement issued by Buckingham Palace at the time.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine last February. In December on the anniversary of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine being administered in the U.K., they announced that they had both received a booster dose as well, urging others to do the same.

“People who are unvaccinated are at least 10 times more likely to be hospitalised or die than those who have had two vaccine doses. That is why we urge everyone to get vaccinated and to take up the booster, as we have done ourselves,” the statement read.

Charles previously tested positive for the virus in March 2020. Clarence House, his official royal residence, announced then that the prince tested positive after ”displaying mild symptoms.”

“The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus,” the statement said at the time, noting that aside from the mild symptoms, he “otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”

Contributing: Elise Brisco and Maria Puente, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

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