By Lucy Caulkett-
Kate Middleton will miss a Big Tea Garden Party at Buckingham Palace this afternoon as well as a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s cathedral after having to self isolate due to coming into contact with someone who tested positive for covid-19.
It has not been reported where exactly the duchess – who received her first dose of the vaccine in late May – was exposed to the virus. She has so far shown no symptoms of the virus.
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Kate and husband William were due to attend two events today to mark the 73rd anniversary of the NHS, but the duchess will now have to spend 10 days at home instead. Her husband, Prince William attended the event this morning.
A palace source said she was “sad” to miss the events today on the 73rd anniversary of the NHS.
As part of her work, Kate tests twice weekly with lateral flow tests as part of the Royal Household testing regime.
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The Duke of Cambridge attended the NHS service of commemoration at St Paul’s Cathedral alone this morning (Image: PA)
Kensington Palace said The Duchess followed the rules throughout Wimbledon, and was wearing a mask. As a patron of the club, Kate attends the tournament every year, but will now miss the men’s and women’s final this weekend.
After prince William and his father, the Prince of Wales, contracted coronavirus last year, the last thing the palace would want is for anybody else to catch the virus again this year.
Both Kate and William received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in May at the Science Museum in London.
Her self isolation comes as the British government is getting ready to announce wide ranging measures to end coronavirus restrictions in the Uk and push for a common sense approach to its citizens, removing all legal obligations, including mask wearing.
The legal obligations of wearing masks are expected to be dropped in Boris Johnson’s announcement today, where he will call for the public to use their common sense instead. However, transport bosses are not happy with the decision, and feel it will leave passengers vulnerable to those who may have the virus.
Mr Jenrick said wearing face coverings will be made a matter of choice and personal responsibility.
He said: ‘Like many people I want to get away from these restrictions as quickly as I possibly can and we don’t want them to stay in place for a day longer than is necessary.
‘We are going to, I think, now move into a period where there won’t be legal restrictions, the state won’t be telling you what to do, but you will want to exercise a degree of personal responsibility and judgement. So different people will come to different conclusions on things like masks for example.’
Asked directly if he will ditch his mask should he be permitted to do so, the Housing Secretary said: ‘I will. I don’t particularly want to wear a mask. I don’t think a lot of people enjoy doing it. We will be moving into a phase where these will be matters of personal choice and so some members of society will want to do so for perfectly legitimate reasons.
‘But it will be a different period where we as private citizens make these judgments rather than the Government telling you what to do.’
ate Middleton may wish these same principles were applied to the requirements of self isolation for those exposed to others who have tested positive, but those rules have not yet changed.
Kate was last seen in public on Friday during a tour on Wimbledon’s grounds where she helped cooks in the kitchen of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. She also spent time close to VIPs , the likes of David Beckham and Ed Sheeran at Wembley ,and Tim Henman and Joe Wicks at Wimbledon, and Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton to watch Jamie Murray play in the doubles. It is not known whether any of those VIPs have been required to self isolate too.
Tory MPs today urged to PM to scrap the self-isolation rules, but prime minister Boris Johnson has shown no signs of ditching the rules at this stage. A palace source said that the Duchess took lateral flow tests before both engagements and both were negative. In addition to this, the Duchess is tested twice weekly with lateral flow tests as part of the Royal Household testing regime, meaning she had four negative tests in that time.
The service at St Paul’s Cathedral will celebrate the NHS’s contribution to the country during Covid-19, reflecting on the work and achievement of health staff, volunteers and carers.
William will join guests including leading figures in the NHS pandemic response, and multiple frontline staff.
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