Queen’s garden parties still on... for now

THE Queen’s garden parties in Scotland and England could become a victim of coronavirus – though she is currently planning to go ahead with them.

The Queen is set to continue to meet thousands of people with a series of public engagements although she was seen unusually wearing gloves at an investiture ceremony last Tuesday.

Buckingham Palace stressed it is “business as usual” for the 93-year-old monarch and planned visits this month to Cheshire and Camden in London will go ahead.

But the Government is considering cancelling major public events if the disease spreads.

Health Secretary

Matt Hancock has said he could not rule out banning big events where thousands of people would gather, if the situation gets worse.

But on the schedule for the Queen are three Buckingham Palace garden parties in May and another garden party at the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh on July 1 – where she will be around tens of thousands of guests.

While sports and other events are cancelled because of Covid-19 concerns, the Queen plans, at this stage, to go ahead with a visit to Cheshire on March 19 and another to Camden on March 26.

Her large garden parties in May are expected to be attended by other members of the Royal Family.

Meanwhile, France has announced a ban on indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people, as well as the cancellation of the Paris half-marathon that had been scheduled for yesterday, amid the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The nation has banned public gatherings outright in areas north of Paris that have been hardest-hit by the outbreak.