Prince Philip marks 99th birthday with Queen in lockdown in Windsor Castle

Prince Philip marks 99th birthday with Queen in lockdown in Windsor Castle

 

 

Buckingham Palace release a new photograph of the royal couple ahead of his birthday

 

 

Agence France-Presse

Teh Guardian

Wed 10 Jun 2020 02.25 BST

 

The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, pose for a photo in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle ahead of his 99th birthday. Photograph: Steve Parsons/AP

 

Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, will mark his 99th birthday on Wednesday, with the royal couple still in lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.

 

The Queen, 94, and her husband of 72 years are maintaining social distancing rules at Windsor castle, west of London, because their age puts them in a high-risk category for Covid-19.

 

Buckingham Palace released a new photograph of the couple, which was taken on 1 June in the quadrangle at the castle, to mark his birthday.

 

Royals practise physical distancing as Charles self-isolates

 

 

The Duke of Edinburgh is the longest-serving consort in British history, and stepped down from frontline royal duties in May 2017.

 

In January 2019, he emerged unscathed after his vehicle was involved in a traffic accident that injured two people near the monarch’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

 

But he has not been seen in public since spending four nights in hospital in December for what royal officials said was “observation and treatment” for a “pre-existing condition”.

 

 

The “precautionary measure” and unspecified condition renewed concerns about his health as he approaches his landmark 100th birthday.

 

Centenarians in Britain typically receive a special birthday card from the queen.

 

The Queen and the duke moved to Windsor in March, effectively to self-isolate, as the coronavirus outbreak took hold, but have remained there even as stay-at-home restrictions are eased.

 

Her grandson Prince William in April expressed his concern about their welfare given the risks, and after his father, heir to the throne Prince Charles, contracted the virus.

 

The monarch celebrated her 94th birthday in April with no fanfare, cancelling the traditional gun salute because of the crisis. She was recently seen riding a horse in the grounds of the castle.

 

At the height of the coronavirus outbreak, she sent two rare televised messages to the nation, urging solidarity and determination to fight the virus.