Queen holds first official engagement since Prince Charles Covid scare

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The Queen used a video link from Windsor to meet with two new ambassadors to the UK, who came to Buckingham Palace for the visit

The Queen has carried out her first official engagements since coming into contact with the Prince of Wales, days before he tested positive for Covid.

Last week Buckingham Palace said the Queen had shown no Covid symptoms and she continued with her work diary by holding virtual audiences from Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

She spoke to the new Spanish and Estonian ambassadors via video-link.

They attended Buckingham Palace for the event.

Prince Charles met the Queen two days before he tested positive last week, while the Duchess of Cornwall has also tested positive for the virus and is self-isolating.

Last week Buckingham Palace declined to say if the Queen had the virus on medical privacy grounds, only stating she had no symptoms.

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The Queen met with new Estonian ambassador Viljar Lubi, who placed his credential on an antique wooden table in front of the flat screen monitor.

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She also spoke with the new Spanish ambassador José Pascual Marco Martínez, seen here dressed in diplomatic uniform

During the virtual engagement, the new Estonian ambassador Viljar Lubi and Spanish counterpart José Pascual Marco Martínez were greeted by the Queen and presented their Letters of Credence to her.

It has not been revealed whether the Queen is self-isolating at Windsor - where she has spent much of the pandemic.

However, carrying out engagements virtually has become a routine part of her life since the pandemic necessitated such precautionary measures.

She has been meeting newly appointed ambassadors via video link for much of the pandemic, indicating these two was also pre-planned virtual engagements.

In October she met virtually with the South Korean and Swiss ambassadors after being treated in hospital and being told to rest, but records show online meetings with new diplomatic appointments as far back as December 2020.

In England, contacts of positive Covid cases who are fully vaccinated are advised to take lateral flow tests for seven days. They do not have to self-isolate unless they test positive.