The Queen has held her weekly audience with Boris Johnson after being too sick with Covid to carry out virtual duties yesterday.
Buckingham Palace revealed the monarch had spoken with the prime minister over the phone this evening.
There was likely much to discuss, with a warning Ukraine faces a full-scale invasion by Russia ‘within 48 hours’.
Her Majesty tested positive on Sunday, just over a week after her son Prince Charles was confirmed to have the virus for a second time.
Said to be experiencing ‘mild cold-like symptoms’, she was expected to continue ‘light duties’ – but cancelled engagements on Tuesday.
The Queen, who is triple-jabbed, is being monitored by her physician Professor Sir Huw Thomas who is head of the Medical Household.
‘She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines’, a statement from the Palace said.
There’s a chance the Prince of Wales could have passed the virus on to her before his positive test as Covid-19 can infect others from around two days before symptoms start and for up to 10 days after.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, also went into isolation last week when she tested positive three days after her husband.
But the Queen could have been infected by a number of people as it is understood cases have also been diagnosed among the Windsor Castle team.
She was understood to be in good spirits following her diagnosis and found time to pay tribute to Team GB claiming a gold medal in curling at the Winter Olympics and to send a message of condolence to flood ridden Brazil.
Following the news, it was claimed the mood in the Palace was ‘one of caution but no alarm’.
BBC reporter Daniella Ralph told the Today Programme: ‘There are a couple of obvious aggravating factors here. Firstly, that she is 95 years old, almost 96, and that immediately puts her in the vulnerable category.
‘Also, when you see the Queen now, she is considerably thinner and frailer than she was a year ago and of course, she will now have to be carefully monitored.’
Mr Johnson and the Queen switched to holding phone discussions on March 18 2020 as she prepared to socially distance at Windsor, ahead of the first lockdown.
Their first in-person meeting during the pandemic was not until 15 months later on June 23 2021.
In a 1992 documentary filmed to mark her 40th year on the throne, the Queen gave her view on the importance of her meetings with her prime ministers.
‘They unburden themselves or tell me what is going on or if they have any problems, and sometimes I can help in some way as well’, she said.
‘They know I can be impartial and it is rather nice to feel one is a sponge. Occasionally one can put one’s point of view and perhaps they have not seen it from that angle.’
As head of state, the Queen is politically neutral and acts on the advice of her Government in political matters, but her knowledge of politics is immense.
Throughout her reign, she has received weekly briefings from the prime minister of the day, and dozens of government documents pass across her desk every week for formal approval.
Mr Johnson was one of the first to wish her a ‘swift recovery’, joined by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Meanwhile, Piers Morgan and Gary Lineker were among celebrities sending their best wishes.
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