Prince Albert is shutting down speculation that he gave Prince Charles coronavirus, after the two men tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Both royals were in attendance at the same WaterAid event in London on March 10, but Prince Albert, the 62-year-old leader of Monaco, said that they were seated far apart.
“We greeted each other from afar, each of us on opposite ends of the table,” Albert said in an interview with the French radio station RTL.
“I never shook his hand,” Albert added, which makes sense, as Charles, who is 71, was pictured giving out “namaste” greetings as early as March 9.
“I was already there on the other side of the table, so we greeted each other from afar … So I don’t think I can be accused of having contaminated him,” Albert said, laughing. “But there were a lot of people, not only around that table but also in the atrium of that convention center.”
The head of state added that he is recovering from the virus.
“I’m still coughing a little, but I no longer have a fever. I can see the end of the tunnel,” Albert added.
Prince Albert was the first head of state to test positive, but the second royal, after Karl von Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria.
Charles sent a message of thanks to his supporters on Thursday, one day after Clarence House confirmed that the royal tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing “mild symptoms.”
“Thank you for all your ‘Get Well Soon’ messages for His Royal Highness. He is enormously touched by your kind words,” read a statement from Clarence House’s social media accounts.
The Prince of Wales is currently self-isolating ― and still working ― at his estate in Scotland, alongside Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. The duchess’s test results came back negative.
“The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing,” the spokesperson for Clarence House said Wednesday. “It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks.”
Though Charles was with Queen Elizabeth on March 12, and saw the rest of the royal family at Commonwealth Day services on March 9, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the monarch is in good health.
“The Queen last saw the Prince of Wales briefly on the morning of 12 March and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare,” a palace spokesperson added.
The queen is currently at Windsor Castle, where she joined Prince Philip. Her Majesty normally goes to Windsor for Easter break, but arrived a week earlier than usual, with no set timeline of when she’ll return to Buckingham Palace.
Daniel Marans and Erika LaRose contributed reporting and provided translation.
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