Queen gets back to
THE Queen was back to business as she carried out her first public engagement outside of a royal residence since the coronavirus pandemic gripped the nation.
The 94-year-old monarch was joined by her grandson the Duke of Cambridge at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) at Porton Down near Salisbury, meeting scientists providing vital support in the UK’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
She ventured from HMS Bubble – the nickname for her reduced household of staff – for what was her first external engagement in seven months.
The Queen was on good form as she quipped while signing the guest book: “Well it proves we’ve been here, doesn’t it?”
She was dressed in her trademark block colours – a Stewart Parvin old rose cashmere coat and silk dress of autumnal woodland florals with a matching Rachel Trevor Morgan hat – with black gloves and her signature black Launer handbag.
There was also the traditional royal duty – the unveiling of a plaque to officially open the Dstl’s new £30 million Energetics Analysis Centre, used by scientists for counterterrorist work.
But much had changed in terms of the heightened safety arrangements put in place for the royal engagement.
Neither the monarch nor William was wearing a face covering.
But all 48 people who were due to come into close contact with them were tested for Covid-19 by Dstl beforehand, and all came back negative.
Kensington Palace declined to comment as to whether the duke was also required to have a test in order to be able to accompany his grandmother.
Second in line to the throne William and the Queen, who previously would have been side by side, walked two metres apart as they were greeted by staff.
The Queen also arrived by helicopter separately from the duke, who travelled by car.
Small groups of those taking part in the royal visit were arranged two metres apart for social distancing.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “Specific advice has been sought from the medical household and relevant parties, and all necessary precautions taken, working closely with Dstl.”
The Salisbury engagement comes amid a resurgence of the virus, with the country battling a second wave and stricter restrictions in place in some areas.
The Queen and William were being greeted by Dstl’s chief executive Gary Aitkenhead for a tour of the Energetics Enclosure to see displays of weaponry and tactics used in counter-intelligence.
They were also being shown the £30 million state-of-the-art Energetics Analysis Centre to meet counterterrorism staff and see a demonstration of a forensic explosives investigation.
They spoke to those involved in identifying the nerve agent following the Novichok incident in 2018, and those who worked on the decontamination clean-up operation.
Russian intelligence has been accused of being behind the attempted nerve agent assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.
Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill in nearby Amesbury months after the attack, and Ms Sturgess later died after coming into contact with a perfume bottle believed to be linked to the case.
Military teams spent 13,000 hours on the clean-up. They took 5,000 test samples from across Salisbury and nearby Amesbury during the 355day operation.
In recognition of their work, the duke was presenting the Army’s Headquarters South West with the Firmin Sword of Peace for going above and beyond their normal duties in the community. The Queen was last at an official public engagement outside of a royal residence when she joined the royal family for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9.