One didn’t need to wear a mask at all!
THE Queen chose not to wear a mask in public as she stepped out of her protective bubble for the first time in seven months yesterday.
The 94-year-old monarch was accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge as they visited the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, near Salisbury, to meet those who had helped in the UK response to Covid-19.
She was heard to describe the pandemic as ‘this horrible new thing’.
It was the first time she had conducted a public engagement outside of a royal residence since March, and she looked to be relishing the opportunity. As she signed a visitor’s book she even joked: ‘Well it proves we have been here, doesn’t it!’
The sovereign and her grandson were at the UK’s national security laboratory to formally open its new £30million Energetics Analysis Centre.
The pair arrived separately but neither were wearing masks, which prompted accusations that she had missed a chance to set an example.
Other royals, including Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, have been seen in face masks or visors during some, but not all, royal engagements. Buckingham Palace said ‘specific advice’ had been sought, including from the laboratory itself.
Dressed in a Stewart Parvin old rose cashmere coat and silk dress of autumnal woodland florals with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan, she was on lively form and was delighted when introduced to police sniffer dog Max.
■ There will be no crowds or military march past at this year’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. The Queen, Prince Charles and other dignitaries will lay wreaths on November 8 but the public have been asked to stay away.