Queen holds first in-person engagement since catching Covid

7 March 2022, 13:01 | Updated: 7 March 2022, 13:40

The Queen met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in her first in-person engagement since catching Covid.
The Queen met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in her first in-person engagement since catching Covid. Picture: Alamy

By Will Taylor

The Queen has held her first in-person engagement since catching Covid, meeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The monarch, who is also Queen of Canada, met the Canadian Prime Minister after he flew to the UK to speak to Boris Johnson over Ukraine.

Pictured in a patterned dress, the 95-year-old smiled warmly at Mr Trudeau as he held her right hand in both of his.

Mr Trudeau was also seen laughing as the Queen gestured towards herself during the meeting in the Oak Room sitting room.

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The Queen, 95, tests positive for Covid-19

The head of state suffered what was understood to be mild symptoms similar to having a cold, after coming into contact with her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, the week he had the virus.

She tested positive for Covid on February 20 and has spent the last two weeks carrying out only light duties including a handful of virtual audiences.

She is believed to have spent time with Charles on Tuesday February 8 - days after she carried out her first major public engagement for more than three months when she met charity workers at Sandringham house - when her son hosted an investiture at her Windsor Castle home.

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Buckingham Palace said she suffered mild "cold-like" symptoms, with a number of her planned virtual engagements cancelled as she recovered in Windsor Castle.

She spent last Sunday with family at Frogmore on the Windsor estate after seven days recovering.

The Daily Mail reported that the monarch gathered to meet family including Princess Beatrice and her baby daughter Sienna and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge along with their three children.

Until recently she had been on doctors' orders to rest and only undertake light duties since mid-October.

She cancelled a run of major engagements, and also secretly spent a night in hospital on October 20 undergoing preliminary tests.